Back in 2007, a group of Jamestown residents passionate about the arts collectively envisioned a dynamic arts center in the heart of historic Jamestown. They worked tirelessly to bring their vision to life and finally, in December of 2009, they purchased a former 5,000 square foot boat repair shop and transformed it into a thriving arts center. 

Since then, the Jamestown Arts Center (JAC) has brought endless art exhibits, theatre and dance performances, film nights, OutLoud events and concerts to Jamestown, alongside art and design educational programs for people of all ages.

The latest outdoor exhibit, "Passages" is open for viewing July through October, 2022 throughout the island. Each of the temporary installations engages space in interesting or unusual ways, is original in its construction and use of materials, and offers an unexpected point of view.

OUTDOOR ARTS BIENNIAL: PASSAGES

According to the JAC, this year's concept for Passages was inspired by the town of Jamestown on Conanicut Island, itself literally and physically defined by Narragansett Bay. Explore the mission and more about this year's concept here, outdoorartsexperience.org.

Site Locations for 2022

All information courtesy of Jamestown Arts Center

1 LOOK OUTS AND LETTERS

Amelia Wilson, 2022
What:
WOOD AND PAINTED STRUCTURES WITH VINTAGE, FOUND, AND HANDMADE OBJECTS
Where:
GODENA FARM, NORTH MAIN ROAD, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
GPS:
41.54315, -71.37448
ABOUT THE WORK


My interactive two-structure installation pays homage to Jamestown's natural beauty while subtly encouraging visitors to reflect on how the last two years have changed how we live.

 

Programing

“Moonrise Kingdom” Film Screening

When: Tuesday, July 12 at 7:00 PM
Where: Jamestown Arts Center 
Admission: $10 general admission, $8 for JAC Members

 

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2 SOUND FORT

Daniel Shieh, 2022
What:
WOOD, DRIFTWOOD, POLYESTER TWINE
Where:
MELROSE SCHOOL, 76 MELROSE AVENUE, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
GPS:
41.50005, -71.38045
ABOUT THE WORK


Sound Fort is created through the collective input of the student community at Melrose. It celebrates the coming together of each student's creativity in a symphony of sounds. This fort, as a shared space, is where each member of Melrose school can see their work alongside others and hear the soft, collective chiming of each person's handiwork.

Sound Fort Jamestown Arts Center

 

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3 THE POPPY FIELD

Eileen Travis, 2021
What:
CROCHET YARN POPPIES
Where:
JAMESTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY WINDMILL, NORTH ROAD, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


Eileen Travis is a large scale crochet artist who loves to create work inspired by nature in yarn. At a young age, she was lucky to have both grandmothers teach her how to crochet, which nourished a lifelong love of fiber arts. Eileen is an avid gardener and licensed Landscape Architect, based in Poughkeepsie NY.

CROCHET YARN POPPIES

 

PROGRAMING

Poppy Patterns and More with Eileen Travis

When: Saturday, July 23, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: The Historic Windmill, Jamestown
Admission: Free, all ages and abilities welcome 

 

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4 SIX OF THE FIRST

Jean-Marc Superville Sovak, 2022
What:
LASER-CUT STEEL
Where:
EAST FERRY GARDENS, INTERSECTION OF CONANICUS AND NARRAGANSETT AVENUES, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


Six of the First is a monument to some of the earliest recorded Africans to have been brought to Newport County in 1743: six women named Yallah, Morandah, Mowoorie, Simboh, Burrah, and Yearie. Six of the First consists of a steel panel divided between an upper portion displaying the names of the six women as they were recorded, and a lower portion reproducing a 1688 print of the exile of Queen Mary and King James II, eponym of Jamestown.

SIX OF THE FIRST

 

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5 COMING TOGETHER

Jerome Harris Parmet, 2006
What:
WELDED, PAINTED STEEL
Where:
FIRST SUBDIVISION OF SHOREBY HILL, CONANICUS AVE, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


Coming Together was inspired by absorbing the tenets of a religious group that placed ethical ideals, community responsibility, and strength to perpetuate as goals. The representational figures earnestly bend inward toward each other, each respectful of the other's differences, in a dialogue meant to inspire the beauty of sharing. One figure's body wears an open circle to permit evolving ideas to pass into the group's embrace of the unknown future.

Coming Together

 

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6 WHITE FENCE

Keith Francis, 2020
What:
WOOD WITH ALUMINUM BASE
Where:
EAST FERRY GARDENS, INTERSECTION OF CONANICUS AND NARRAGANSETT AVENUE, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


White Fence is the result of my ongoing investigation into alienation and disenfranchisement in society.

WHITE FENCE

 

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7 REFUGE

Linda Hoffman, 2020
What:
BRONZE
Where:
JAMESTOWN PLAYGROUND, VALLEY STREET INTERSECTION WITH LIBRARY DRIVEWAY, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


Some of the themes I have addressed in my work are climate change, loss of habitat, human migration, immigration, human alienation, and our desire for connection. In my sculpture, Refuge, two endangered species, a young giraffe and a sea turtle are rescuing humanity even though human beings have destroyed their habitat. The animals are helping us with our 'passages' whether to a new land, a new way of life, or safety.

 

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8 RENEWAL

Mark Dornan, 2021
What:
HAND CARVED FOAM, FIBERGLASS COATING
Where:
TOWN HALL, 93 NARRAGANSETT AVENUE, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


One of my great "loves" is the COLOR WHEEL. The symbol for infinity was easy to adapt with one more loop making it perfect for becoming a TRILOOP - allowing 3 primary colors, (red, yellow, and blue) running through the center - turning into the secondary colors on each loop.

 

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9 Like You And Me

Claudia Ravaschiere & Michael Moss, 2022
What:
Reflective polycarbonate, installation dimensions vary
Where:
Lawn of Jamestown Philomenian Library, 26 North Road, Jamestown RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


Like You and Me represents light and is intended to evoke hopefulness and discovery. Through the material’s reflective quality, the hemispherical shapes will draw viewers’ images together as they pass among the domes, the viewers’ forms looming, attenuating, and shifting across the vibrant, arcing surfaces.

Like You And Me

 

PROGRAMING

Family Day! Mirror Mobiles with Claudia Ravaschiere + Michael Moss

When: Tuesday, August 9 from 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Where: Jamestown Philomenian Library
Admission: Free; ages 3+

 

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10 THE EPHEMERAL NATURE OF TIME

Peter Diepenbrock, 2022
What:
STAINLESS STEEL, GLASS, WHITE BRONZE
Where:
BANKNEWPORT, 31 CONANICUS AVE, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


How do we measure time? How can this elusive aspect of our life, measured in such units, actually represent the dimensionality of life? This work eludes to how time can be seen to move, like bubbles emerging, from a moment onward, upward, expanding, and eventually dissipating into the ether. The passage of a moment, first arises as a fresh thing, a beginning possibility, then evolves, grows, expands, and ultimately disappears.

 

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11 GATEWAY

Rob Lorenson, 2004
What:
STAINLESS STEEL
Where:
EAST FERRY LAWN, CONANICUS AVENUE, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


Gateway, is made up of architectonic elements. These elements create a dialogue about stone work that is traditional in architecture yet the work is made in stainless steel. The stainless steel gives the work a modern appearance and brings these elements into a new context. This occurs contextually with the invitation to pass though, to what is unknown. The elements infer some transformation yet, you don't know until you try.

GATEWAY

 
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12 FEAR AND WONDER

Sean James Harrington, 2019 - 2022
What:
STEEL AND STONEWARE
Where:
DEM FORT WETHERILL/FISHERIES, FORT WETHERILL ROAD, JAMESTOWN RI 02835
ABOUT THE WORK


Fear and Wonder is a two-part sculpture. Each piece is a metaphor for the contrary instincts of curiosity and survival. These divergent impulses work in harmony to help achieve a passage into a prosperous future.

 

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13 Wrack Line

Melody Drnach, Janie Harris, Anne Kuhn-Hines, & Mary Meagher, 2022
What:
WOOD LATH AND WIRE STORM FENCE, TUMBLED STONES, SHELLS AND LED STRING LIGHTS
GPS:
41.49904, -71.36654
ABOUT THE WORK

In early November 2021, after a nor’easter blew into Jamestown, sending the water of Narragansett Bay across Conanicus Ave and onto the Shoreby Hill green, Mary Meagher sent an email to her friends Anne Kuhn-Hines and Melody Drnach.  She asked for their help with an idea she had for Jamestown Arts Center’s Outdoor Art Experience 2022: Passages. It was to install something akin to the snow fencing we see at beaches, on the Shoreby lower green, marking the predicted consequence of sea level rise in 2050.

 

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