Reflecting
on 2023
Engage. Learn. Thrive. Campaign Launched
PPL partnered with local artists and performers at Frog & Toad and Big Nazo Lab to create a highly visual and fun Library messaging campaign. Activities continued through June 2023, including artwork in bus shelters throughout Providence and limited print ads, culminating in large format wall artwork in the Library.
December ’22
November ’22 - April ’23
DEI Working Group Established to Steer Implementation of Organization Roadmap
Following the completion of the year-long, organization-wide work resulting in the creation of a comprehensive roadmap (outlining a detailed plan for action and changes, training, expected outcomes and metrics, required resources, approaches to assess progress, timeline, and capacity building for sustainability within three main areas: Human Resources, Culture, and Leadership) for the PPL’s evolving DEI process, the Library’s DEI work continued with next steps undertaken to create a DEI Working Group comprised of volunteer PPL staff members and leadership to help steer the rollout and implementation of this important work over the coming years. The plan called for staff from as many departments as possible to have a voice in this process and input into how these decisions are made and operationalized, as opposed to a specific individual to oversee the implementation of the DEI Roadmap plans.
January ’23
Second Annual Day of Racial Healing at PPL
On January 17, PPL joined in co-presenting and hosting with the Providence Anti-Racism Coalition and the City of Providence the 2nd Annual Day of Racial Healing. The event coincided with the National Day of Racial Healing. Keynote speakers included Senator Tiara Mack, DEI education expert Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi, and renowned activist and scholar Marco McWilliams, discussing what the transformative power of racial healing means in the communities of Providence. The Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts (TAPA) Music Majors also performed. Spanish language and ASL interpretation was provided.
MPC Beats Academy: Futures In Music Technology
This week-long MPC Beats Academy program taught youth ages 13 - 17 about music production and beat-making with the Akai Professional MPC Beats software. Participants got hands-on instruction featuring the MPK mini MIDI controller while learning how to make drum beats, create melodies, and putting a full beat together from start to finish. Participants got to share their creations with one another and invited guests in the final sessions.
August ’22
September ’22
New Young Creators Series Introduced
In line with PPL’s mission to provide non-traditional learning opportunities to improve educational outcomes, engagement, and empowerment among Rhode Island’s youth, the Library’s Early Literacy Learning Services team developed and launched Young Creators. The new four-part program series is geared toward youth ages 6 - 12 years old and focused on various topics, including creative movement, STEM, music, and art. Young Creators aims to make enrichment available to all in our community, particularly low-income youth of color who comprise the majority of PPL’s young patrons. Engaging children from a young age, Young Creators helps foster a love and pursuit of artistic endeavors that will serve youth throughout their lives. Held on Saturday mornings, progressive sessions on a focused theme allow participants to develop their interest and skills. During its inaugural year, series programs focused on music, theater arts, coding, sewing, and multi-media art.
New Play Discussion Series in Collaboration with GAMM Theatre Launched at PPL
Theater lovers flocked to join in a new play discussion series offered in conjunction with the GAMM Theatre beginning in the fall and continuing through the spring, coinciding with the Gamm’s 2022-23 season. Participants were encouraged to read the plays and attend the discussions alongside cast members and staff from the Gamm, all before seeing the plays. During the inaugural season, the group read and discussed Sweat by Lynn Nottage, Faith Healer by Brian Friel, Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon, and The Children by Lucy Kirkwood.
October ’22
August ’22
First PPL Teen Creative Fellowship
Designed to give practicing young artists of any discipline between the ages of 13 and 19 an opportunity to create a new body of work inspired by the materials in the Library’s historical collection, PPL launched the first Teen Creative Fellowship during the summer. Emerging artists who already had projects in mind that they wanted to bring to life but have not due to lack of funding, support, or work space were encouraged to apply for the eight-month-long program. The fellowship recipient also received a $1500 stipend and $500 for supplies. PPL’s first Teen Creative Fellow, Slim, successfully designed, produced, and staged a fashion show – titled Slim’s Freak Show – in April and delivered an artist’s talk in June. Her work remained on display in the Teen Loft following her presentation.
The 28th Annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading at PPL
The poems of Langston Hughes – the “Everyman” – date from the Harlem Renaissance through the 1960’s, and continue to resonate today. These powerful, poignant, and often amusing works are read out loud by members of the community, accompanied by Mike Rollins & Company. This event has been coordinated by the Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading Committee in partnership with Providence Public Library, and with generous support from Beneficent Congregational Church, City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, Papitto Opportunity Connection, Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, and Rhode Island Foundation.
February ’23
March ’23
New Fantasy Book Club and Book to Movie Series Launch
Readers interested in exploring new worlds and fantasy places riding in space ships or on the backs of dragons, were welcomed this year to join us in the newest addition to PPL Book Club offerings! The Book Readers Guide to the Galaxy group began meeting monthly in March. Meanwhile, also debuting in March, movie lovers were invited to join in another new offering – a six-part Book to Movie series in PPL’s auditorium. Many of the movies were suitable for families.
“Who Has a Seat at the Table” Exhibition
The Library welcomed and supported the research and installation of an exhibition – “Who Has a Seat at the Table,” – guest-curated by Aaron Castillo, a Brown University student who worked extensively with PPL Special Collections material for his thesis. With the goal to create space and learn with other members of the community, the exhibition was on view in the Rhode Island Room for the month of May. “Who Has a Seat at the Table” explored the histories of five displaced communities in Providence, Rhode Island: The Narragansett Tribe, Colonial Black Heritage, Chinatown, Lippitt Hill, and Fox Point and provided context by detailing what happened to these communities and examining how food and foodways can serve as a means of remembrance. Along with each history was an accompanying piece by artists Dana Heng and Nafis M. White that explored food and memory within the respective communities, revealing how we can preserve and remember these communities’ legacies through food. Funding for the exhibition was provided by another generous patron who met Aaron in our reading room. “In working on my project I wasn’t sure just where to go. PPL seemed like the logical place to start – I had never been in an archive before or done this kind of research. The people at PPL really took me under their wing and helped me figure out how I was going to do this... and find resources, connections, and people. They really were a backbone on this project and helping me succeed. I didn’t know a place would do this for free! I think public libraries have immense value . . . in educating people and having access to information and are a key to a whole different world of things that I didn't know and I think a lot of people don’t realize exists.” – Aaron Castillo
May ’23
“May Is Mental Health Month Art Show” at PPL
When we were approached by the Eleanor Briggs School, which serves children who are experiencing behavioral or emotional challenges, about hosting a show of student artwork in May in observance of Mental Health Month, we answered with a resounding “Yes!” We were especially moved to learn that the school’s first arts curriculum had only been created within the past six months – so having a public exhibition of their work could be a new and exciting experience for these young artists. Clinical Supervisor Nora Brennan, who, along with colleagues from Thrive Behavioral Health, created the art curriculum that she now teaches, explained that the program was developed to cater to the specific needs of the school’s learners, many of whom have had challenges within their school, and often don’t have a great rapport with school in general. As a way to highlight the importance of the students’ experiences of learning to work with different media and create their own pieces, they hoped to showcase their artwork. That’s where PPL came in: the “May Is Mental Health Month Art Show” of students’ work was installed in the Library’s Ground Floor Stacks in early May, followed by a festive opening event on May 13, where artists, family members, Eleanor Briggs School staff, and members of the public perused the many creative works and learned more about artworks, the artists, and this essential new therapeutic program. During the two week exhibition, art lovers could place bids on the works through an online site managed by Eleanor Briggs School, with all proceeds going directly to the new arts program – and all the pieces sold! At PPL we were thrilled to be able to provide a showcase for these beautifully expressive works, and we congratulate all the artists on their very successful exhibition!
May ’23
May ’23
PPL Hosts 2023 PVD Cello Fest
PPL came alive with the sound of cellos (and many other instruments) as the Library hosted the day-long 2023 PVD Cello Fest on May 6 in a triumphant return from a COVID hiatus. Musicians of all ages participated in performances, workshops, and jam sessions throughout the Library. Cello Fest founder Zan Berry, who worked with fellow cellists Kamyron Williams and Isabel Castellvi on this year’s iteration, noted that the Library’s Donald J. Farish Auditorium was an ideal acoustical spot for presenting cello music, along with the other flexible for the more interactive workshop and old-time jam session. Closing out the day by performing in the upstairs lobby was also a nice way to break down the audience-performer barriers, spark some curiosity, and get the cello conversations started.
June ’23
Good Grief: A Performance by PPL’s 2023 Creative Fellow
Good Grief was a performance by J.R. Uretsky (she/they), PPL’s 2023 Creative Fellow, employing video, interactive sculpture, and live music to explore grief through communal singing and mundane rituals. Uretsky worked closely with librarians to examine moments of collective Queer joy and Queer grief in PPL’s Special Collections, and every part of the performance, from the group rituals and music to the videos, masks, puppets, and sculptures, was designed to explore and express human emotions as a group. "Participating in collective emotional experience is how a community heals,” said Uretsky, explaining that their performance was meant to create space for an audience to process surviving a global pandemic, grieving what we lost, and ensuring a future rich in human connection. Intended for adults 18+, the performance explored difficult themes such as grief, death, heartbreak, and mental illness. John-Francis Quiñonez gave an opening reading from their book Keep Your Little Lights Alive (Poems After Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love & Others).
NEW – Summer with your PVD Libraries! Kicked Off
In a new iteration of a long-standing collaboration, Summer with your PVD Libraries! officially kicked off June 24. Youth in grades K – 12 were invited to join the Summer with your PVD Libraries! challenge to read, make, explore, and learn at all 10 local Providence libraries, as well as the mobile library in parks. Students who signed up got a game board/booklet (available in Spanish also) or could opt to play online with Beanstack to log and track their reading and activities and be entered into weekly raffles. Young readers were invited for book giveaways, performances, a variety of fun activities, and to learn about interesting places around the city to visit for free. Programs at PPL included Mini Makers, a summer STEAM program series, a Maker Camp for youth and teens, World of Water STEM Mentoring Program series, and a story time program series with Gamm Theater. Summer with your PVD Libraries! partners included PPL, Community Libraries of Providence, Providence Schools, Eat Learn Play, Brown University Library, RI State House, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence PlayCorps, Partnership for Providence Parks, RI Historical Society/John Brown House, Farm Fresh RI, RISD Museum, and Museum of Natural History and Planetarium. The program was made possible in large part to Brown University Library, as well as the kindness of an inspirational man, Mr. J. Renn Olenn, the Mary Dexter Chafee Fund, and the Edwin S. Soforenko Foundation. The statewide RI Summer reading Program was supported by the RI Office of Library and Information Services, with funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.