AS220: building community through an unjuried, uncensored forum for the arts.
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Revelation to Action: Your Place. Your Idea. Your Change. competition.
Renovate derelict buildings in downtown Providence and turn them into facilities that offer affordable live/work studios for artists and opportunities for every Rhode Islander to perform, exhibit, and make art. Sustain the programs with a diverse earned-income portfolio. Run a youth arts and mentoring program that transitions adjudicated youth from juvenile prison back into their communities.
About You
Section 1: You
First Name
Umberto
Last Name
Crenca
Website URL
Organization
AS220
Country
United States, RI
Section 2: Your Organization
Organization Name
AS220
Organization Website
Organization Phone
(401) 831-9327
Organization Address
95 Mathewson Street, Providence RI 02903
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Organization Country
United States
Your idea
Name Your Project
AS220: building community through an unjuried, uncensored forum for the arts.
Country and state your work focuses on
United States, RI
Describe Your Idea
Renovate derelict buildings in downtown Providence and turn them into facilities that offer affordable live/work studios for artists and opportunities for every Rhode Islander to perform, exhibit, and make art. Sustain the programs with a diverse earned-income portfolio. Run a youth arts and mentoring program that transitions adjudicated youth from juvenile prison back into their communities.
Website URL
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
AS220's unjuried, uncensored mission and its equal pay policy make it a unique model. We look at art not as a commodity but as a vehicle for building community, self empowerment and social change.
AS220 is reinventing downtown Providence around a creative community by providing all Rhode Islanders the opportunity to exhibit their artwork, express themselves in any way on stage, take classes and make art in our community darkroom, print shop and technology lab.
We are not aware of another urban-core community arts organization in New England that has combined historical real estate redevelopment with a diverse earned-income model to create a sustainable, scalable model for community building, urban renewal and economic development.
Our youth program is the longest existing partnership we're aware of between a juvenile prison and a community arts organization, and the only one we know of that puts art at the center of a program to transition adjudicated youth out of incarceration.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
We've redeveloped three formerly derelict buildings in downtown Providence, totalling more than 100,000 square feet, into a community arts campus with numerous public programs, a performance space, galleries and art studios serving tens of thousands annually.
We've watched additional investments in real estate occur around us as a result of what we've done on each of the streets we've invested in first.
Over 25 years, AS220 has enabled hundreds of working artists to live affordably in downtown Providence, and provided thousands of artists with affordable studios and classes.
Our efforts have also had a significant impact on the City of Providence's decision to create a Department of Art, Culture & Tourism, and subsequently to brand itself as 'The Creative Capital' and seek to bolster the city's creative community as an economic development strategy.
Our mentoring and long-term relationships with incarcerated and at-risk youth has changed the course of many lives and even saved lives. A handful of our youth program alums who had formerly been in the care of the state have received full or partial scholarships, or have been accepted through early admission to the Rhode Island School of Design, the Art Institute of Chicago and other prestigious art schools based on portfolios they created in our studios.
As a result, our work teaching art to incarcerated youth has been the subject of several reports in academic journals and the popular press, and resulted in invitations for us to present at juvenile justice conferences across the nation.
Our 'Action Speaks' humanities panel discussion series, which addresses policy issues through the lens of history, was broadcast this past season on 250 radio stations across the nation.
AS220 founder and Artistic Director Umberto Crenca and other AS220 administrators sit on numerous boards and committees, where they have successfully advanced an agenda to support creativity and the arts.
Problem
AS220 addresses the need to reinvent our city and repopulate downtown Providence in a way that is sustainable and remains affordable for artists and lifelong, low-income residents.
We answer our city's need for a place to congregate, exchange ideas and share community.
We address the problem of a lack of affordable housing and studio space for artists in Providence, and the limited opportunity many artists have to exhibit and perform.
We offer an innovative model for using the arts to reduce recidivism, reduce gang violence, increase educational attainment and increase employment for adjudicated youth.
Actions
All of our actions to increase AS220's facilities and programs are in direct response to the needs of our community.
This fall we'll open our third building downtown, doubling our footprint for the second time in five years and significantly expanding two of our programs: the community print shop, and the Providence Fab Lab at AS220 Labs – a personal fabrication studio and curriculum in collaboration with the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms.
AS220 Labs is among about 35 sites worldwide to host a fabrication laboratory – commonly called a Fab Lab – developed by MIT. The Providence Fab Lab provides public access to and training on a suite of technology tools that enable anyone to design and build prototypes and inventions.
The number of youth who attend our youth program on a weekly basis has increased 58 percent in the past year. At Rhode Island's juvenile prison we are currently working with about 43 percent of the state's total incarcerated youth population.
We feel that AS220 is at a watershed moment and some planning is needed. As a result, we are currently conducting a strategy process in consultation with field experts resulting in a 5-year plan.
Results
We will continue to build a sustainable, scalable model for creative community development.
We will serve larger numbers of the public, and develop strategies and programs to become more accessible to minority groups in Providence.
We will scale without sacrificing the mission and values on which AS220 was founded.
We expect that another significant result of our current actions will be increased efforts to share our expertise in creative community building with the field.
We are already approached almost weekly by artist groups, municipalities and real
estate developers around the country interested in AS220's model for creative community development.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
Year 1: We will conduct a strategy process in collaboration with consultants with expertise in nonprofit administration, creative community building and systems theory.
The process will produce a 5-year plan that provides a blueprint for sustaining AS220's growth amid transformational economic times, and will position us to begin exporting our model in response to the urgent needs of the creative sector in Rhode Island and across the nation.
The strategy exercise will go beyond a traditional 5-year plan to include original research that examines how AS220 flourishes within a larger ecosystem that includes individual artists, other arts organizations, city and state governments, academic institutions, private foundations and the local business community.
Year 2: 1.We will use the strategy plan to launch a professional development program for AS220.
We are committed to providing our staff with resources to grow professionally and ultimately to experience the personal,organizational and community results they care about most deeply.
AS220 will produce necessary organizational manuals, including:
AS220 Empire Street Resident Handbook
AS220 Dreyfus Building Resident Handbook
AS220 Artist In Residence Handbook
AS220 Artist In Residence Exit Interview
AS220 Employee Handbook
AS220 Employee Exit Interview
AS220 Board of Directors Handbook
AS220 Teaching Best-Practice Handbook
Year 3: We hope to create a consultancy with expertise in nonprofit arts administration, real estate development and creative community building. The consultancy will be administered as a program of AS220 and provide a new earned-income stream for the organization.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Prolonged economic recession could impact aspects of AS220 and prevent potential expansion with a fourth real estate development project.
As long as we remain conscious of what we're managing, we believe AS220's model is too diverse and enjoys too much community support to fail.
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
In what country?
United States, RI
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
AS220
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
AS220's partnerships are the base that supports our entire structure. We are networked on the ground, rooted in this community through decades-old relationships with the public sector, private sector, and arts community. Our partners include the City of Providence, RI Dept. of Education, RI Dept. of Juvenile Justice, RI Dept. of Children, Youth & Families, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, MIT, Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson & Wales University and other arts organizations in Rhode Island and throughout the nation. We partner with local farmers through our restaurant, and small businesses through our mixed-development model. We only work with local businesses in our buildings.
We have longstanding relationships with organizations and individuals throughout Providence's diverse communities, such as the gay community, and new immigrant populations in the city. They all want us to exist and they all play a role.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
1. Creation of a 5-year plan, which will provide a thoughtful internal assessment of what is has meant to double our size twice in recent years.
2. Making sure we are putting best practice into all of our functions; including business plans for our restaurant, bar and other cottage industries.
3. Thoughtful development of our internal and external communications. Communication is the train we're all riding into the future. We need to be as sophisticated about communicating as possible.
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
In 1985, me and small group of friends, fellow artists and collaborators were feeling frustrated by the lack of opportunities to perform and exhibit our artwork in Providence.
I wanted to create a place that was open to all artists, where it was about the exchange of ideas, where art and creativity was valued of itself and everyone had opportunities to learn and grow.
Providence at the time was in desperate economic straits; infrastructure was crumbling, downtown was abandoned and people were moving away. I was looking for a way to keep the fire alive.
I founded AS220 with $800, in a room above the Providence Performaing Arts Center, with an unjuried, uncensored mission and the conviction that freedom of expression is crucial for the development of strong communities and individual spirits.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
Umberto Crenca was born in Providence and worked as a commercial building cleaner, dishwasher, magazine subscription salesman, director of a drug rehabilitation outreach program, factory worker, waiter, and a printer in the print shop of Fleet Bank before founding AS220 in 1985.
He served on the Providence School Board from 2005 to 2007, and has served as a consultant to the Ford Foundation Individual Artist Support Initiative, as a member of the Providence Creative Economy Committee, and on the Advisory Team for Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline.
Crenca has been a panelist for The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., a supervisor to Americorps* VISTA volunteers, and a member of the Providence Downtown Improvement District and the Providence Film Commission.
In 2003, Umberto received a scholarship to attend Harvard Business School's Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management course of study.
He received his BA in Liberal Arts from Rhode Island College in 1981.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Personal contact at Changemakers
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
50 words or fewer
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 | 156 weeks ago Mohenna Sarkar said: On May 27, 2010 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers Revelation to Action: Your Place. Your Idea. Your Change. ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 157 weeks ago Umberto Crenca said: Hi Alexis, Although I believe the ingredients for an AS220-type community exists in many places, it is critical to understand that ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 157 weeks ago AS220: building community through an unjuried, uncensored forum for the arts. has been chosen as a finalist in Revelation to Action: Your Place. Your Idea. Your Change.. |
| 158 weeks ago Alexis Ditkowsky said: Hi Bert, I love AS220's comprehensive approach to community-building and how you've created a financially sustainable model. What ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 164 weeks ago Umberto Crenca updated this Competition Entry. |
| 164 weeks ago Umberto Crenca updated this Competition Entry. |
| 164 weeks ago Umberto Crenca updated this Competition Entry. |
| 164 weeks ago Umberto Crenca updated this Competition Entry. |
| 164 weeks ago Umberto Crenca submitted this idea. |
