Mayor Elorza, the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, and the Art in City Life Commission announce the finalists of the inaugural Landmark Public Artwork competition.
Earlier this year, ACT released a nation-wide call to artists and received over two hundred applications. A jury of experts selected the following five artists / artist teams to develop a design for an iconic work of public art to be sited in the Providence Innovation District Park near the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge. This inaugural, large-scale, signature, permanent work of art will be the first of its kind in the City and is the first activation of Providence’s Art in City Life Ordinance.
Allison Newsome and Deborah Spears Moorehead are one of the five finalists.
Four Directions, Artist Team: Allison Newsome & Deborah Spears Moorehead
Deborah Spears Moorehead is from The Eastern Woodlands and Allison Newsome is from the Redwoods. They share a concern for the honoring of mother earth’s watersheds in their art. When they collaborate their ideas flow harmoniously. They have different cultural backgrounds but as environmentalists see through a similar lens. Together they make sculptural installations that are site specific, permanent, interactive, culturally inclusive and safe for the public. Deborah is a cultural bearer, a narrative painter and performance artist and shares huge resources in how to live symbiotically and learn from nature. Together Deborah and Allison create profound public sculptures that dovetail with schools programming in the arts, science, history, etc, that ensure ‘The Seventh Generation Principle’ in regards to decisions being made about our energy, water, soil, and natural resources, decisions that are sustainable for our generations to come.
The center, heart and soul of our sculpture is a prominent rock, seemingly there since time immemorial. On top of the rock is the focal point of the site, where there will be four larger-than-life Figure Beings that represent the North South East and West, circling a large stainless steel tree rooted on top of the rock, sculpted by Deborah Spears Moorehead.
