February 2019 -- Upcoming Events - Join Us!
Join us at Providence Career & Technical Academy for this exciting collaborative program!
Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading

Sunday, February 3 — 1 - 4 pm
Providence Career & Technical Academy
41 Fricker Street, Providence

This program is free and open to the public.

As a proud member of the Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading Committee, PPL invites you to join us for the 24th Annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading! Refreshments will follow the reading.
Family Learning Sunday: Ballet with Ann Ditmars Huyck

Sunday, February 3
2 - 3 pm Register
This year's free programs will take place off-site at our temporary location for children's programs at the Pavillion at Grace Episcopal Church,
300 Washington Street, Providence

Curious about ballet and how it began?  Come try the five positions, stretches, turns, jumps, and pantomime…and put them into action to express a variety of moods and stories to music!  Wear comfortable clothing (no special ballet gear required). This workshop is open to boys and girls trying ballet for the first time along with young dancers who want to have some fun with steps they know!

Family Learning Sundays offer a variety of free interactive workshops for children ages 5 - 10 and their families from October through May.
Join us at Butler Hospital for this collaborative program!  
Context & Conversation:  Macbeth , co-presented by PPL, Trinity Rep, the Mental Health Association of RI, and Butler Hospital

Monday, February 11
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Butler Hospital, Ray Conference Center
345 Blackstone Blvd, Providence

Program is free and open to the public; please email [email protected] and indicate the number of seats you wish to reserve.

Macbeth's bravery in battle gains him a promotion, for which he's humbly grateful. But when presented with a prophecy of himself as king, he abdicates any duty to earn the crown by valor, instead turning to deceit, betrayal, and murder to immediately gratify the fantasy of himself on the throne. His selfish, violent actions destroy everything he once fought to honor: family, duty, brotherhood, esteem. Finally, the chasm between his image as a godly, righteous king and his actual existence of emptiness, paranoia, and misery, swallows him. This gap between idealized image and empty existence is one that we recognize today, as we're urged to create and present an inflated, enviable identity by means of image-making and self-promotion, rather than by living, learning, and applying the lessons of experience. Examples of this dynamic abound in our popular culture and the media, and we can see it as well in the increasing need and use of mental health services for feelings of meaninglessness and worthlessness. How did we get here? What is the allure of inhabiting an image with no earned experience? What does it cost us to live in that anxiety-filled gap, comparing ourselves to others and worrying that we will be found out? Join us for a conversation with scholars, artists, and community practitioners to consider the construction of the self, the risks and rewards of accountability, and finding meaning in living our actual lives.

Please register at: [email protected]

Context & Conversation (C&C) is a public conversation series co-produced and co-presented by Trinity Repertory Company and Providence Public Library. C&C events bring together scholars, artists, and community practitioners to consider the themes and ideas found in the play currently on stage at Trinity Rep, and to consider where we find those themes and ideas at work in our own community. Conversations are moderated by  Christina Bevilacqua , PPL's Programs & Exhibitions Director and Trinity Rep’s Conversationalist-in-Residence, and each takes place in a community setting related to the themes of the play. While the play is the inspiration for the C&C event, the conversation doesn’t depend on the play; you can attend and participate in C&C even if you haven’t seen it. All C&C events are free and open to the public.
Pianist Rod Luther
to Perform

Wednesday, February 13
12 Noon - 1 pm
PPL, Grand Hall

This program is free and open to the public.

 Rod’s performance will focus on Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Want to learn more about these American composers? Bring questions for Rod.

Rod Luther is a jazz and improvisational pianist who enjoys playing selections from the Great American Songbook featuring the music of Gershwin, Porter, Ellington, Berlin, and others. He also plays blues, spirituals, and light classical pieces.
New Data Navigators Programs to Begin!

February 4 — April 1
Skills for Rhode Island’s Future
30 Exchange Terrace, Providence

Session 1: Mon and Wed -- 2 - 4 pm
Session 2: Mon and Wed -- 5:30 - 7:30 pm

These are FREE Data Analytics Primer Courses!

We will explore how to transform data into actionable information during this 15-class course.
Topics include: Data Collection and Cleaning, Advanced Excel, Tableau, Basic Statistical Concepts,
and Data Visualization Techniques.

Participants agree to complete a Real Jobs Rhode Island Enrollment Form.

Register: prov.pub/data

Basic Excel knowledge is REQUIRED.
If you need to take an Essential Excel class, you can register for one at: prov.pub/excel
PVD Young Makers Continues...Free!

PPL's Young Makers workshops run Thursdays, 3 - 5 pm and
Fridays, 1 - 5 pm
at RIMOSA (RI Museum of Science and Art)
763 Westminster St., Providence

Thursdays:
Accelerated Projects and Training Time
Dive deeper into projects, bring prototypes to life and sharpen your skills as designers and makers during our project and training time. Staff from FabNewport, PPL and our student mentors will be on hand to provide support. Please make an appointment by emailing [email protected].

Fridays:
Open Studio and Training
Interested in trying something new? Have a design idea? Open Studio is the answer. Come and prototype a design, try out a piece of equipment or develop an idea for a bigger project. Staff from FabNewport, PPL and student mentors are available to provide instruction and support. For more information or to register, please email [email protected] or [email protected] .
Join us at Brown University for this collaborative event, co-presented with Community MusicWorks!
Voices from Syria: Community Conversation with Composer
Kinan Azmeh

Thursday, February 28
4 - 6 pm
Grant Recital Hall
Brown University Department of Music
105 Benevolent Street, Providence

This program is free and open to the public.

Community MusicWorks hosts Syrian composer and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, hailed as a “virtuoso” by T he New York Times  and “spellbinding” by  The New Yorke r, for a multi-day residency, featuring performances of works for strings and clarinet by Syrian composers, including Azmeh himself.

This community conversation, presented in conjunction with the performance, links the concert to the ongoing Syrian crisis, and features composers along with representatives from   Dorcas International Institute , which provides ongoing support to Syrian refugees in Rhode Island. PPL's Programs & Exhibitions Director Christina Bevilacqua will moderate.See full list of Kinan Asmeh residency events   here .