Providence ¡CityArts!

We said goodbye to temporary summer VISTAs Luned and Heather. Luned is bound for Manhattan and marriage and Heather is continuing to pursue her art in Providence, both taking with them this fun and fulfilling experience. Anneke Reich also finished her internship and is soon moving back to MA to finish her degree at Brandeis this fall and continue her musical performances. Our Visiting Artists who have finished their summer contracts will move on, continuing to teach and make art within the Creative Capital we call home. Now, I am afraid, it is my turn to say goodbye as well. 

For the past year I have been reporting on the latest news, sharing images and videos of CityArts students and their work. But as the seasons change so must the staff here at CityArts as the directors prepare for a new set of AmeriCorps team members and the new Program Coordinator, Rachel Cronin, who will be taking my place and continuing the blogging once programs begin again. In the meantime Resource/Advancement and Outreach Coordinator Genise Choy will keep you all updated on anything new at CA. 

I just want to say that CityArts is truly one of the most phenomenal and selfless institutions that I have ever been involved with. I am truly awed everyday of the impact that the organization has on students’ lives. It builds their characters, helps them develop as people and lets their imagination take precedent. Now that my year of service here has come to an end, I cannot help but feel heart broken and sad that I will no longer be working with the incredibly dedicated staff and the inspiring students.

I will, however, take with me some incredible memories, lifelong friends and an experience that will most definitely improve my career as an art educator. I will use this year to help fuel my studies at the Rhode Island School of Design where I will be following in the footsteps of the CA Executive and Education Directors and working towards my MA in Community and Non-Profit Arts Education. I want to focus on partnerships between community centers and museums and how they can work together to bring art history and art in practice to inner city Providence. 

This city has such a tight knit community of art educators that I am sure that this is not my last encounter with CityArts and their amazing staff and students. You will certainly see and hear from me again as I venture off into this new phase of my life of beginning school and planning my big artsy wedding… wish me luck!

So long for now…

Andrea Abarca-Grimsley