Imagining America is hosting a public presentation and discussion with Barnaby Evans, a multi-media artist whose renowned WaterFire installation helped spark the revitalization of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. 

The event will be held on Wednesday, March 3 from 8:30-10 a.m. at The Warehouse auditorium, on the first floor of 350 Fayette Street in downtown Syracuse.   It will include a light breakfast with a presentation followed by discussion.  Reservations are required as space is limited.  Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP at vadelpra@syr.edu or call (315) 443-8590.

WaterFire draws thousands of visitors from Providence and beyond multiple times each year, contributing significantly to urban revitalization, community engagement, and the creative transformation of the city.  WaterFire centers on a series of 100 bonfires that blaze just above the surface of three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence.  The string of fires illuminates two-thirds of a mile of urban public spaces and parks; residents and visitors gather to stroll along the river while listening to a memorable and eclectic selection of classical and world music.  Simultaneously an art installation, a performance work, and an urban festival, WaterFire has attracted millions of visitors and demonstrated the importance of public art in restoring urban and social spaces.

Evans work includes site-specific sculpture installations, film, garden design, architectural projects, photography, writing, and conceptual works. In addition to WaterFire Providence, Evans also created WaterFire Houston in 1998 and installed Moving Water for Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art in 2001, among many other installations.  He has lectured at Brown, RISD, Harvard, and MIT, where he spent a year as Artist in Residence.

This conversation is funded by the New York Council for the Humanities. It is the first in a series of discussions about art and revitalization leading up to a large downtown performance in Syracuse on September 11, co-created by Geoff Navias of Open Hand Theater and Lauren Unbekant of Syracuse Stage, in collaboration with Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life, and funded by  the Chancellor’s Leadership Project.  Additional partners include the Office of the Syracuse University Arts Presenter and SU’s Office of Community Engagement and Economic Development.