WaterFire is a sculpture by Barnaby Evans presented on the rivers of downtown Providence, RI. It was first created by Evans in 1994 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of First Night Providence, and has since become a free public art installation. WaterFire's symbolism and interpretation reflects on the recognition that individuals must act together to strengthen and preserve their community.[1]
The view of the City of Providence during WaterFire from Waterplace Park
On WaterFire evenings, downtown Providence is transformed by eighty-six burning braziers (each with approximately 33 pieces of wood); some float just above the surface of the rivers that flow through Waterplace Park (the Woonasquatucket River) and the middle of downtown Providence (the Moshassuck and Providence rivers; others are mounted on the piers of former bridges. The public is invited to come and walk the riverfront and enjoy the flickering firelight, the fragrant scent of aromatic wood smoke, the changing silhouettes of the volunteer fire tenders, and the music. Average attendance is 40,000 a night,[2] ranging from 10,000 to 100,000.
WaterFire is held May through November, with lightings typically on Saturday evenings once or twice a month. The rivers are tidal, so events are normally scheduled to take place when sunset coincides with an incoming high tide.[3]
WaterFire Providence is the independent 501(C)(3) non-profit arts organization responsible for presenting WaterFire.[4]WaterFire Providence consists of about 15 staff members and relies heavily upon volunteers for the production of WaterFire. On a given night, up to 160 volunteers make the entire event possible.
History
Evans created the first WaterFire, named First Fire on New Year's Eve 1994 as part of the tenth annual of First Night Providence. First Fire consisted of 11 braziers on steel tripods stretching from WaterPlace Basin to Steeple Street. In June 1996, Barnaby created Second Fire for the Convergence Art Festival and the International Sculpture Conference.[5]
Through the support of volunteers, WaterFire returned as a seasonal event. WaterFire gained regional attention and a coordinated effort to fund the project began. In 1997, WaterFire expanded to 42 braziers, and had an estimated attendance of 350,000 people over the entire season. Evans received The Renaissance Award for his effort to revitalize downtown Providence, and WaterFire became the symbol of the city's renaissance.
In June 1998 Barnaby Evans installed WaterFire in Houston, Texas on the Buffalo Bayou.
In July 2005 Barnaby Evans designed a WaterFire installation in Columbus, Ohio, called WaterFire Columbus.
In 2007, Barnaby Evans created a new installation in Kansas City, Missouri on Brush Creek near Country Club Plaza and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.[6]
On September 24 and 25, 2011, Barnaby Evans installed WaterFire in Singapore. The flame from Singapore was sent electronically to Providence to light WaterFire there. The next day, the flame from Providence was sent electronically to Singapore to light WaterFire there.
On September 21 and 22, 2012, Barnaby Evans installed WaterFire in Rome on the Tiber River between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Giuseppe Mazzini on the Vatican side of the river near the old city.
In August 2013, Barnaby Evans designed a WaterFire installation in Sharon, Pennsylvania on the Shenango River, called WaterFire Sharon.
References
^. waterfire.org. Archived from the original on 2007-06-25.
^ "Three Rhode Islanders are Among Seven to be Honored by the Nation's Governors for Distinguished Service to States". State of Rhode Island. June 29, 2010.
^. www.visitkc.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-31.
External links
WaterFire website
Washington Post travel article by Carlo Rotella
The Butterfly Effect blog entry about WaterFire
thisplaceiknow.com entry for WaterFire
January 28, 2023
waterfire, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, contains, content, that, written, like, advertisement, please, help, improve, removing, promot. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view January 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources WaterFire news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message WaterFire is a sculpture by Barnaby Evans presented on the rivers of downtown Providence RI It was first created by Evans in 1994 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of First Night Providence and has since become a free public art installation WaterFire s symbolism and interpretation reflects on the recognition that individuals must act together to strengthen and preserve their community 1 The view of the City of Providence during WaterFire from Waterplace Park On WaterFire evenings downtown Providence is transformed by eighty six burning braziers each with approximately 33 pieces of wood some float just above the surface of the rivers that flow through Waterplace Park the Woonasquatucket River and the middle of downtown Providence the Moshassuck and Providence rivers others are mounted on the piers of former bridges The public is invited to come and walk the riverfront and enjoy the flickering firelight the fragrant scent of aromatic wood smoke the changing silhouettes of the volunteer fire tenders and the music Average attendance is 40 000 a night 2 ranging from 10 000 to 100 000 WaterFire is held May through November with lightings typically on Saturday evenings once or twice a month The rivers are tidal so events are normally scheduled to take place when sunset coincides with an incoming high tide 3 Contents 1 WaterFire Providence 2 History 3 Proliferation 4 References 5 External linksWaterFire Providence EditWaterFire Providence is the independent 501 C 3 non profit arts organization responsible for presenting WaterFire 4 WaterFire Providence consists of about 15 staff members and relies heavily upon volunteers for the production of WaterFire On a given night up to 160 volunteers make the entire event possible History EditEvans created the first WaterFire named First Fire on New Year s Eve 1994 as part of the tenth annual of First Night Providence First Fire consisted of 11 braziers on steel tripods stretching from WaterPlace Basin to Steeple Street In June 1996 Barnaby created Second Fire for the Convergence Art Festival and the International Sculpture Conference 5 Through the support of volunteers WaterFire returned as a seasonal event WaterFire gained regional attention and a coordinated effort to fund the project began In 1997 WaterFire expanded to 42 braziers and had an estimated attendance of 350 000 people over the entire season Evans received The Renaissance Award for his effort to revitalize downtown Providence and WaterFire became the symbol of the city s renaissance For the 1998 installation WaterFire expanded to include 81 fires with expansions up the Moshassuck River and into the basin at Waterplace Park WaterFire now enjoys national and international renown citation needed dubious discuss Proliferation EditIn June 1998 Barnaby Evans installed WaterFire in Houston Texas on the Buffalo Bayou In July 2005 Barnaby Evans designed a WaterFire installation in Columbus Ohio called WaterFire Columbus In 2007 Barnaby Evans created a new installation in Kansas City Missouri on Brush Creek near Country Club Plaza and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art 6 On September 24 and 25 2011 Barnaby Evans installed WaterFire in Singapore The flame from Singapore was sent electronically to Providence to light WaterFire there The next day the flame from Providence was sent electronically to Singapore to light WaterFire there On September 21 and 22 2012 Barnaby Evans installed WaterFire in Rome on the Tiber River between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Giuseppe Mazzini on the Vatican side of the river near the old city In August 2013 Barnaby Evans designed a WaterFire installation in Sharon Pennsylvania on the Shenango River called WaterFire Sharon References Edit Synaesthesia WaterFire waterfire org Archived from the original on 2007 06 25 Three Rhode Islanders are Among Seven to be Honored by the Nation s Governors for Distinguished Service to States State of Rhode Island June 29 2010 WaterFire Providence www goprovidence com p https www goprovidence com things to do waterfire providence Retrieved 17 June 2019 Frequently Asked Questions 2022 WaterFire Season Schedule News Release VisitKC com Official Travel Source Waterfire Kansas City VisitKC com Official Travel Source www visitkc com Archived from the original on 2010 05 31 External links EditWaterFire website Washington Post travel article by Carlo Rotella The Butterfly Effect blog entry about WaterFire thisplaceiknow com entry for WaterFire Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title WaterFire amp oldid 1132495889, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
