As220

Live arts & galleries: we provide an unjuried, uncensored, all ages forum for the arts; every artist residing in rhode island has the opportunity to exhibit or perform their original work in our venues. As220 presents an extraordinary range of activities and our unjuried and uncensored booking policy ensures that a limitless variety appears on our stages and on our walls. Live arts venues include the main stage, the black box theatre, psychic readings and the dance studio, and these venues host live music, theater, dance, performance art, figure drawing, poetry slams, film screenings, late night programming, fashion shows, workshops, festivals and more. In fiscal year 2022, live arts programming was reduced due to the covid-19 pandemic, (continued on schedule o) offering streaming events with high quality video production to artists and audiences. Live arts presented 140 performances, which have been viewed over 64,000 times by people all over the world.the As220 galleries include the main gallery, the project space, the reading room, the resident gallery, the aborn gallery and the window gallery and feature visual artists in various mediums on a monthly rotating schedule. In fiscal year 2022, the galleries curated exhibitions featuring 180 visual artists (including 96 first-time exhibitors) with attendance of approximately 2500, the aborn gallery also continuted to experiment with curated, timely exhibitions. This model is now being used to support artists and curators who otherwise would not have an opportunity to show work, with a focus on projects that: engage with critical social issues relevant to and urgent in our community; present projects that bring new voices to the gallery and As220 community; uplift artists at critical junctions in their career; and might be outside the traditional parameters of a gallery exhibition and/or push against boundaries of the mainstream.

Live/work: As220 owns and manages three mixed-use buildings in downtown providence, rhode island, totaling approximately 100,000 sq ft. we offer affordable housing and studio space for over 60 artists on the upper floors of each of our three downtown buildings, including 47 live/work studios and 8 work-only studios. Each of our buildings includes a mix of affordable residences, artist studios and public As220 programming. We also provide space for three other non-profit organizations and have 6 commercial tenants, all of which are local, one-of-a-kind businesses. Permanent, affordable artist housing has been key to transforming downtown providence into a vibrant place to live and work over the past 30 years. Our tenants are also part of the core foundation of the As220 community, (continued on schedule o)have access to As220 resources, and help support the community through volunteer work.as220 is proud to have supported residents during the covid-19 pandemic regardless of financial circumstances and ability to continue to pay rent.

As220 youth works with young people aged 14-21 in 5 crews: apparel, digital media, music, dance and visuals. As220 youth operates out of 3 primary locations: the downtown youth studio in our empire street complex; nowell leadership academy; and the rhode island training school, the state's juvenile detention center, where we have been working for over 25 years. This exposure to the arts taps into an often-overlooked creative potential, offering a powerful alternative for young people. In fy2022, As220 youth ran hybrid programming, in-person or virtual as needed due to the ongoing pandemic, focusing on the summer jobs and apprentice programs despite covid-19 challenges, As220 youth served 222 young people in fy2022 and increased paid opportunities for youth.

As220 industries is a cross-disciplinary arts education space and community studio, comprised of a media arts lab, fabrication lab, printshop and community darkroom. In addition to providing members access to professional tools and equipment for artistic production, As220 industries has offered educational workshops from beginner to advanced levels since 2011. By providing affordable access to studio space, tools of the trade, and varied training opportunities, As220 industries has fostered a dynamic environment for learning and making, as well as small business development and production. In fiscal year 2022, members worked collaboratively to safely reopen the studio, and public access and adult educational opportunities were gradually being rebuilt. 125 regular members participated as As220 industries, and 290 students attended 60 workshops an events in-person during the second half of the fiscal year.

Other programs generally include organization-wide programming such as As220's racial justice initiative, practice//practice, participation in the city of providence's annual pvd fest and supporting and incubating small and fledgling arts groups as they grow into their own non-profits. Many of these programs were limited in fiscal year 2022 due to covid-19, but As220's racial justice initiative (rji) grew significantly into the guiding light for all of As220's work. 35 staff members participated in the rji, meeting weekly along with a team of artist-organizers from the community, to work collaboratively towards the goal of co-creating an antiracist and liberatory culture at As220. This work is rooted in 12 demands lovingly crafted and put forth by As220's bipoc staff, which are necessary for As220 to become an antiracist organization.