May 5, 2025

Astrid Santos competing in Washington, D.C.
Photo by James Kegley.

Classical High School student nets top 9 at National Poetry Out Loud Competition

A standing ovation for Classical High School Senior, Astrid Jhonnieli Santos. With the recitation of Aunt Sue’s Stories by Langston Hughes, she finished in the top nine at the 2026 Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, D.C.

In March, Astrid won the R.I. Poetry Out Loud Championship, which qualified her to compete in Washington, D.C. During the national competition, Astrid competed against state champions from 54 state and jurisdictions and was named a top nine Finalist.

• About Astrid.
• Performing Aunt Sue's Stories.

Poetry Out Loud is a RISCA program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and is managed by Mid-Atlantic Arts, a regional arts agency. Read more about R.I.'s Poetry Out Loud.

Upcoming meetings and events

Mark your calendar

Mix and Mingle
 Artists and Creative Entrepreneurs 
Wednesday, May 13

You're invited to an evening of creative connections and community building on Wednesday, May 13, 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. at the Cape Verdean Museum, 617 Prospect St., Pawtucket. The event is in collaboration with the Pawtucket Commission on Arts and Culture and open to artists and creative entrepreneurs from throughout the state. 

Rhode Island Commerce will be on site to share programs, resources, and available grants for small businesses, and to answer your questions. Participants will leave with ideas, connections, and resources that empower artists to access information and opportunities available to them as small businesses. 


Free event. Light snacks provided and on-site parking is available. 

RSVP.

I Too Sing America
 An America250 Call and Response

 Thursday, May 21

Join Harold Steward, Executive Director of the New England Foundation for the Arts, and Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes, Director of the Center for Black History at Newport Historical Society, on Thursday, May 21, 5:30-7 p.m., Great Friends Meeting House, 21 Farewell St, Newport, for a participatory fireside chat about American identity, past, present and future. The event will feature a reading of poetry authored by Langston Hughes, and remarks by R.I. Secretary of State, Gregg Amore.

The RISCA event is in partnership with the Newport Historical Society, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Rhode Island 250 Commission.

On-site parking is available. 


RSVP.

Arts and Health Network
 Planning Meeting
Friday, May 29

The next meeting for the Rhode Island Arts and Health Network is on Friday, May 29, 10 a.m.-noon, at the Hattie Ide Chaffee Center, 200 Wampanoag Trail, Riverside.

Individuals with an interest in the intersection of Arts and Health are invited to join the planning session. We encourage artists, arts and culture organizations, practitioners, educators, health professionals, researchers and caregivers to attend.

During this session, staff will review the themes that emerged from our last meeting; establish the network’s shared priorities; and determine next steps to achieve the goals.

Free event; light snacks and on-site parking.

RSVP.

Accessibility Assistance

For questions on accommodations, contact Seamus Hames, Arts Education Program Director and 504 Accessibility Coordinator, at 401-222-6994 or seamus.hames@arts.ri.gov.

Celebrating the power of the arts at the State House

The purpose of Arts Day at the State House is to celebrate the importance of arts and culture and how they contribute to the development of thriving individuals and communities in Rhode Island. Again, this year, we expected 60-70 guests and nearly 150 attended.

Tables throughout the rotunda were filled with displays from arts organizations and artists who have a connection to how the arts and health sectors work together to improve community wellbeing. After networking with the community at the tables, attendees took their seats in the State Room for a speaking program emceed by RISCA’s Executive Director Todd Trebour.

Guests heard remarks from Rhode Island officials, Governor McKee, Rep. Lauren Carson, Sen. Hanna Gallo, RISCA’s Council Chair, Larry Purtill and Silvermoon Mars LaRose Council member and Assistant Director, Tomaquag Museum. There were arts and health presentations from Rachel Balaban, Dancer, Teaching Artist, Maker, Ana Bess Moyer Bell, Drama Therapist, Mental Health Counselor, Playwright, Sidy Maiga, Djembe Master, and Sussy Santana, Arts and Health Practitioner, Cultural Artisan.

Included in the program was the first runner up from this year’s Rhode Island Poetry Out Loud championship, Peter Devaney, a freshman at Portsmouth Abbey School. He performed a poetry recitation of The Village Blacksmith by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

You can view the entire speaking program on CAP TV.

Check out the photos on Flickr.

New Council members confirmed

Congratulations to the following new appointments to our Board: 


• Maggie Anderson, Johnston
• André Herrera, Providence
• Kara Kunst, Warwick
• Michael Rose, Providence

RISCA sends a giant thank you to long-time board members Dominique Alfandre and Jennifer Fonseca, and Marisa Angell Brown for their service to Rhode Island on the Council.

Read more about the new board appointments.

National Call for Artists

URI's Narragansett Bay Campus Ocean Robotics Lab 



Deadline: May 26

The Call for Artists-Request for Qualifications is a national call for a Public Art commission for the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus Ocean Robotics Laboratory. The budget for artwork is $140,000, and the deadline to submit the application is May 26.

This RFQ is the first step in the public art selection process. Note: Do not submit a specific proposal. You will submit your qualifications (examples of previous work and resume). After a review of qualifications, the selection committee will invite the finalists to visit the campus. Finalists will then propose a site-specific artwork for the Ocean Robotics Laboratory.

• Read the Call for Artists on CaFE.
• Photos of the site.

Free Professional Development Workshops for Artists

Assets for Artists (A4A), now an independent nonprofit with workshops and programs open to all New England artists, has announced its summer professional development workshops. They are free and geared for artists of all disciplines.

See the entire listing of workshops being offered.

Read our FY 2024 Annual Report

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