Providence Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Best art galleries Providence museums supplies classes your area

Over the next few minutes we will be breaking down everything we know about art in Providence in full detail and our first section will fully cover the best art galleries and museums near you.

After that we will get into a variety of other topics like art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, local sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.

You can jump straight to any section that interests you most by using the table of contents on the left and we are also including a Providence art map with all of the spots we mention throughout the post pinned on it.

The Northeast is an area that we have written about many times before.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Providence

When you are ready to check out the best art galleries and museums in Providence you can head to:

More than 80,000 works of art are on display at the creative and globally recognized RISD Museum which is open every day of the week but Monday ranging from Paul Revere’s silver and caricatures of 18th century Europe to French Impressionists and the avant-garde works of contemporary graduates. One of the cooler sites is the Japanese Buddha from the 12th century that has its own chamber with seats for meditation.

The Chazan Gallery is open from 3pm to 6pm on weekdays and from 11am to 4pm on Saturday and noon to 4pm on Sunday as a non-profit artists’ gallery that showcases a diverse spectrum of modern work by local and regional artists. The gallery is located on the East Side of town between Brown University and RISD and is entirely funded by the Wheeler School as a gift to the artistic community.

Brown’s modern art gallery is the David Winton Bell Gallery which houses a significant portion of the university’s permanent art collection that you can check out from 11am to 5pm every day and until 8pm on Thursday. It first opened in 1971 and holds four to five major exhibitions annually each with accompanying programming such as talks, performances, and symposia.

AS220 is a non-profit community arts group that has four rotating gallery spaces, a performance stage, a black box theater, a print shop, a darkroom and media arts lab, a fabrication and electronics lab, a dance studio, a youth program focusing on youth in state care and in the Rhode Island juvenile detention facility, and 47 affordable live/work studios.

Gallery Z is a fine art gallery that is open from noon to 5pm on Thursday and Saturday located on Historic Federal Hill.

Skye Gallery is open from 2pm to 7pm Wednesday through Sunday celebrating contemporary art that speaks to their humanity, challenges the dominant narrative, and offers a vision for tomorrow.

In 1985 Bert Gallery began with the goal of showcasing and preserving Rhode Island’s and the region’s rich art traditions. The exhibit focuses on the rediscovery of historically significant painters who reflect key American art styles and trends and is available by appointment.

Bringing together modern 2D and 3D works by artists from all over the Northeast is the goal of World’s Fair Gallery which is open from 10am to 3pm on Monday and who provides art purchases, coordination, and gallery services for corporate and individual collections.

Cade Tompkins Projects is a contemporary art gallery in your area that features the work of gallery artists in the form of paintings, drawings, sculpture, video, and prints. They also have an exhibition program that represents creators specializing in contemporary art but they are by appointment only so you must call or email them to set up a reservation.

Eunoia Gallery has a carefully chosen selection of fine art by regionally and globally recognized artists. After originally opening in May 2014 Eunoia includes a mix of internationally recognized and prominent local artists and provides serious art purchasers with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire collectible and investment items while staying accessible to all art lovers.

Carol Ann Shelton relocated from Canada to London where a BA in Visual Arts was obtained at the University of Western Ontario. The London Regional Art Gallery and the Art of St. Thomas-Elgin have both hosted exhibits of her work.

Materials & Supplies Near You

These art stores in your area should have all of the materials and supplies you need:

The Rhode Island School of Design’s campus is served by the RISD Store, a non-profit art supply, gift, book, clothing, alumni and faculty work, and convenience store.

For around five decades Jerry’s Artarama has provided their RI community with cheap, high-quality art supplies.

In 1911 Blick began with a single pen and their dedication to quality, service, and excellence has molded who they are now for over a century.

Glass, wood, or plastic beads, googly eyes, glitter, sequins, pearls, confetti, and other craft items are available at Dollar Tree which is a good place to quickly buy cheap art supplies in your area.

You probably already know what chain stores like the Michaels, Joann, and Hobby Lobby near you have to offer.

Shows & Events

Some of the top local art shows and events in Rhode Island are held here like:

The Art Providence Show continues to attract a diverse group of award-winning artists and craftsmen from all over the country as well as from Rhode Island providing both breadth and depth to its 15 categories of work. The event’s RISD connection, careful selection, and inclusion of artists from diverse backgrounds have resulted in a display unlike any other you’ll see.

The Gaspee Days Committee is a civic-minded nonprofit group that organizes a variety of community activities in and around Pawtuxet Village including the annual Gaspee Days Parade.

The Providence Artisans Market features handmade art, fine crafts, paintings, jewelry, glass, apparel, accessories, and more and is a great place to spend some time outside while supporting over 100 local artists.

From March through November twenty-five of the city’s greatest art places open their doors for a visual arts party on the third Thursday of each month for Gallery Night where you may either take a free guided art trolley tour or choose your own route walking or driving to your favorite galleries.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

When you want to find some new unique works or figure out the true value of something visit dealers and appraisers like:

The Providence Art Club was formed in 1880 by a group of professional painters, amateurs, and art collectors in your area who wanted to promote art appreciation in the community. The founders recommended that this new organization exist for art culture and when they convened to draft their charter on a February night in 1880 they wrote that statement on their seal.

In 2019 the Arctic Gallery was converted from an old pawn store into a cutting-edge gallery and today they can handle any of your design needs including remodels, interior design, and fine art.

Gallery Z and Skye Gallery from our first list also sell art locally.

Walking Tours

These art walking tours can be a lot of fun on a nice day:

The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) announced the debut of two new self-guided walking tours showcasing Downtown and the West Side as part of National Travel and Tourism Week.

Remember how we mentioned the The Providence Artisans Market before? That would also be an outstanding place to walk around to find many creative things.

You should also be checking out Gallery Night on each Third Thursday of the month from March through November.

And our next section suggests Roger Williams Park is another great option.

Sculptures & Statues

Framing art supply stores Providence lessons near you studios

You may also be interested in taking photos of these statues and sculptures:

  • Gun Totem at S Main St
  • Brigadier Casimir Pulaski Statue at Roger Williams Park
  • George M Cohan Memorial at 468 Wickenden St
  • Bowen R Church Statue at Roger Williams Park
  • Juan Pablo Duarte Statue at Roger Williams Park

Artist Boris Bally and the Guns For Goods buyback program collaborated on the Gun Totem which is a sculptural piece commemorating when guns were deactivated and thrown into a concrete pillar rather than being destroyed. The weapons were subsequently exposed after the concrete was scraped away.

Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski’s equestrian monument may be seen in Roger Williams Park where on an 8′ by 9′ by 15′ granite foundation a magnificent 14′ by 5.5′ by 13′ bronze equestrian statue of Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski rises.

On Broadway George M. Cohan will be remembered for the rest of his life. In Times Square, a statue honoring the late composer and singer, who wrote such iconic songs as “Over There,” “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy” stands proudly saluting everyone who passes by.

Bowen L. Church who was commonly known as the Bandmaster is commemorated with a bronze statue near the north end of Roosevelt Pond in Roger Williams Park. A bronze statue of the bandleader measuring 7.5′ by 33″ by 30″ stands on a 2.5′ diameter circular base that sits on a wedge-shaped taupe and white tiled platform supported by a low rock wall.

On Hawthorne Avenue in Roger Williams Park a cool statue near you honors Juan Pablo Duarte who was a founding father of the Dominican Republic. It is a life-size metal bust stands atop a 5′ high trapezoidal stone foundation.

Providence Art Classes

Whether you are trying to find private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, or adults the best Providence art schools are:

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is a little college in a small state yet it has a large international reputation. RISD, pronounced RIZ-dee, was founded in 1877 and attracts the best art and design students from all across the country and the world. Approximately 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students pursue full-time degree programs in 19 studio majors in the visual arts, architecture, and design each year sharing their creative energy.

In 1992 Carolyn and Don Simon founded the East Side Art Center in your area when twenty-six pupils, both adults and children, flocked to Sunrise Corporation’s second-floor art studio which specializes in graphics and marketing. Since then they’ve had students come from as far as New Bedford, Brookline, Newport, Westerly, and Woonsocket to attend lessons plus their previous seminars in Florence, Italy, and Block Island drew participants from all around the world.

The goal was to become the top paint + sip experience near you when Muse Paintbar launched its first location in 2012. What they want to achieve was a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere in which everyone could take up a paintbrush and create something beautiful and it is fair to say that because of the ‘sipping’ these are more casual art classes than some of the others.

The Steel Yard founders Nick Bauta and Clay Rockefeller bought the highly polluted and under-utilized Providence Steel and Iron (PSI) facility in 2001 and converted it as an industrial arts resource for the community. It was founded in collaboration with a large group of local activists to address the relocation of small businesses and artists in the Olneyville and Valley neighborhoods.

MoonStone Art Studio is an intimate studio environment that focuses on basic art instruction for all ages and levels, is family oriented, and hosts special artists seminars and birthday parties for all occasions.

Studios For Rent Near You

You might be able to rent local art studio space if you contact:

Located in the historic mill area The Wurks is a jointly managed artist’s workplace that includes large studio spaces for both individual artists and groups as well as community wood and metal fabrication facilities, a print shop, and an exhibition space.

Ajay Land Company provides artist work spaces for rent.

AS220 and MoonStone Art Studio who we have previously linked you to in other sections also have studio space available.

Framing

Some of the top places for art framing in Providence are:

Eastern Art & Frame Company has been a full-service family-owned and run frame shop in the Washington Park area since 1955.

New England’s largest art and frame store is Providence Picture Frame who has a legendary reputation and history dating back to 1879.

The Camera Werks is one of Rhode Island’s remaining independent camera stores that has been in business since 1987 specializing on customized service and if it’s photographic they’ll do it.

Hobby Frames is a professional framing firm in your area that specializes in supplying collectors with high-quality one-of-a-kind display frames constructed of solid wood mouldings.

American Picture Frame has been dedicated to offering the best quality frames and customer service since 2002 and all of their work is completed on-site with same-day service available when needed.

You can check out some of our other posts on:

Have Fun Enjoying The Providence Art Scene

Well guys, we tried to cover the full art scene near you to the best of our abilities. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area.

If you made it this far you probably know a lot about the local art scene yourself. Feel free to share your own tips, or to let us know if you noticed anything incorrect in the comments.

Have fun going to the galleries, museums, buying supplies or doing anything that has to do with art in Providence!

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This post and all of the posts on our site are edited by Dan Soloman who has been a huge fan of art since he was a little kid. His mother was a good local artist, and she taught him the trade from a very early age. He studied art and its history in both high school and college, has worked at multiple galleries, and recently has begun creating and editing online content for this site and some other online media platforms.

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