Rebuilding a City Around the Arts

On the occasion of Gallery Night Providence’s 25th anniversary, join the founders of Gallery Night, Cathy Bert (Bert Gallery), Teresa Level (Gallery Flux) and Paula Martiesian (Centercity Contemporary Arts) as they reflect on the inspirations, development, and evolution of Gallery Night. The conversation will be moderated by nationally acclaimed award-winning storyteller and author, Len Cabral.
Free. Registration required.
Register
In 2021, Gallery Night Providence celebrates its 25th anniversary. In conjunction with this achievement, a series of free virtual programs exploring the history and contemporary issues of the visual arts in Providence will be presented. Program series support provided by Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Rhode Island State Archives, Providence Public Library, Rhode Island Historical Society, and RISD Museum.
Catherine Little Bert, director and owner of Providence-based Bert Gallery, passionately documents Rhode Island and regional artists. She has mounted over 100 exhibits during thirty-five years of business investigating and exploring historical artists, contemporary talent and their alignment in the canon of American art. She received a B.A. from Providence College and an M.A. from the University of Connecticut and completed course work for the Certificate in Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts at New York University. Bert serves on the National Advisory Board at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, DC. In the past she has served as a Board of Trustees at Providence College, the Rhode Island Historical Society, and Co-President of Gallery Night Providence, and Chair of the National Advisory Board at NMWA.
In 1989, long before the term “pop-up gallery” became popular, Teresa Level pioneered the idea of a movable gallery. A graduate of RISD with a BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Level started Gallery Flux in a space above the famed bar and restaurant Leo’s in Providence’s Jewelry District. Later the gallery moved to 150 Chestnut Street and then to 260 Weybosset Street where it ended its eleven-year run in 2000. Level was instrumental in the founding of Gallery Night Providence.
With a forty-plus-year career as an artist, Paula Martiesian has been painting most of her adult life. Represented by both the Bert Gallery and Charlestown Gallery, Martiesian is one of the founding members of Gallery Night Providence and the BankRI exhibitions curator. She is a strong advocate for the visual arts in Rhode Island and has earned awards for her work from Business Volunteers for the Arts and WaterFire Providence. Her work has been featured in regional galleries and museums and is in public and private collections. She was the editor and co-publisher of Quix Art Magazine (1991-1998), a publication focusing on the cultural scene in Rhode Island. She has worked as a freelance arts writer, a visiting critic and as a teacher. A native Rhode Islander, she attended RISD both as a child and later as an adult, graduating in 1976.
Internationally acclaimed storyteller Len Cabral co-founded the non-profit organization Providence Inner City Arts (PICA) more than 50 years ago. PICA continues its focus on presenting the full spectrum of the arts– music, dance, theater, and poetry or the visual arts–and artists, at the center of community awareness. PICA is a source of pride for many of Providence’s diverse ethnic groups as well as an inspiration to young and old as a way to express their own creativity. From a Wickenden Street storefront in the 70s, through the outdoor festival, Florentine Faire, to the Roots Cultural Center in Downtown Providence, PICA has offered programming in unique venues and provided creative job opportunities. In partnership with the Rhode Island Historical Society, PICA presented 50 Years of the Arts at the University of Rhode Island Feinstein Gallery in Providence showcasing over 100 works of art–the paintings, photographs and sculpture of Rhode Island artists who worked in the community from 1950 to 2000. lencabral.com