A New Feminist Cultural Center Takes Shape in Providence
The Alcove’s gallery hosts a Portrait Gallery focused on women and gender expansive people. Photo by Michael Rose.
Organizations that blur expected boundaries are crucial to a vital arts community and novel venues are welcome additions to the region. In Providence, a new space that blends art gallery, library, and community space has opened on the city’s West End. Focused on celebrating the stories of women and gender expansive people, The Alcove is a novel feminist cultural center promising to offer engaging programs that will add to the local scene.
The Alcove’s clubhouse was constructed by heavily renovating a former religious goods store. Although the new building keeps the footprint of the old, it adds a second story. Over 200 community members attended a celebratory opening for the venue, illustrating the hunger for third spaces and especially ones that center their work on cultural pursuits. On the first floor, visitors are welcomed into the Club via a polished and publicly accessible gallery space. Fitted out for exhibitions as well as programs, the gallery is at the heart of The Alcove’s public-facing work.
The inaugural exhibition focuses on a Portrait Gallery that highlights the achievements of women and gender expansive people in a series of artworks that span styles and media. The voices of the artists mirror the breadth of the individuals their artworks document. There are familiar figures as well as people whose contributions are less well known, making for a show that is both a celebration and an educational opportunity. Didactic labels add insights that allow the artworks to be a jumping off point for conversation and research.
A corner of The Alcove’s library. Members of the organization can check out books from the collection. Photo by Michael Rose.
Khamry Varfley, The Alcove’s inaugural Curator and Public Programs Manager, is a welcoming host in the gallery. An energetic cultural professional with an MBA, she comes to the organization with extensive experience at Providence Community Libraries. Reflecting on the group’s exhibition space, Varfley says, “The Portrait Gallery is a declaration that the lives of women and gender expansive people deserve to be seen, studied, and celebrated not only to honor their impact but to remind each of us of the possibilities that come from lifting others as we rise.”
Beyond the gallery, a corridor of pale green book cases unfolds into a generous library centered around a fireplace flanked by wingback chairs. The library has space for some 7,000 volumes and a niche in the wall provides another venue for a rotating artwork display. Members of The Alcove can check out books and can reserve meeting rooms to gather for conversation. The facility combines a variety of spaces into a cohesive whole with an overarching goal of making space for people to connect.
Up a skylit stairwell tucked at the back of the building is the Haven, the preserve of members of the organization. There is a kitchen which faces a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that fold open to unveil a light-filled roof deck. There is an adjacent gathering space surrounded by lush plants and paintings that echo the greenery. Facing the street on the second floor, another bright room feels like a Parisian parlor with windows overlooking Broadway, the West End’s main thoroughfare. Art-focused throughout, the entire building is dotted with a collection of artworks by women makers. The Alcove was inventively designed by architect Charlotte Breed Handy.
A light-filled parlor in The Alcove’s Broadway clubhouse, which was designed by Charlotte Breed Handy. Photo by Michael Rose.
Amanda Strauss is The Alcove’s Founding Executive Director. Strauss formerly held managerial roles in libraries at Harvard and Brown. She brings to her work at The Alcove an academic background and a personal passion for art, writing, and community. Considering the role of her new organization in the local cultural landscape, Strauss reflects, “The Alcove is exactly what this moment calls for—a place where women and gender expansive people can find genuine connection in a world that too often feels isolating. Our deepest hope is that by creating a space rooted in inspiration, belonging, and growth, we help shape a future brighter than the one we inherited.”
The Alcove is a striking place. In its gallery, library, and gathering spaces it creates opportunities to encounter stories of remarkable women. It also creates room for friends and neighbors to converse about these stories and to amplify their impact. In addition to this, The Alcove is also setting an interesting example for rethinking arts spaces.
Beyond traditional white-walled galleries, the local art community requires places that serve broader and more complex needs. Spaces that can act as not only exhibition venues but also as centers of community and connection. The world we are living in now necessitates new ways of thinking about cultural venues. The Alcove offers a novel model that makes compelling art accessible, brings people together, and seeds new kinds of programming in a vibrant Providence neighborhood. Watching this organization grow will be exciting.
Learn more about The Alcove at www.alcoveri.org.
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