Barnaby Evans

People who stumbled upon the first prototype for WaterFire Providence in 1994 could be forgiven for responding with a puzzled “huh?” and then moving along. Who knew this odd public art event would bring millions of people and hundreds of millions of dollars into the city?

WaterFire, the nighttime fire-and-music art happening that takes place on the downtown Providence rivers in the warm seasons, requires the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and many donors. The human face of the event and the nonprofit that runs it is that of its creator, Barnaby Evans.

A photographer and installation artist, Evans dreamed up the idea for WaterFire for the first time in 1993 for an installation in Berlin. The next year the proto-WaterFire showed up in Providence, and by 1996 the event had its present name, and it took off.

It is reported to bring 1 million visitors to Providence each year and creates nearly $100 million a year in economic impact for local businesses. The downtown shops, restaurants and arts venues particularly have been infused with optimism and dollars by WaterFire.

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Late 2016 will bring the planned opening of the new WaterFire Arts Center in a rehabbed former industrial building in the city’s Olneyville neighborhood, a project of the organization that, among other things, garnered federal brownfields remediation money. The new center will host arts happenings of all kinds, including involvement by schoolchildren.

Evans continues to make art, lecture and create versions of WaterFire in cities from Houston to Singapore. And of course, WaterFire nights in Providence still continue to bring people to the city to stroll, gaze and smile. •

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