Punctuating Place

Visual artist, Ana Flores, has been awarded a New Works grant by the Rhode Island Foundation to do a year long, artist residency at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center, the new Rhode Island National Refuge complex in Charlestown . The residency entitled, " Punctuating Place," will involve collaboration among Flores, the Friends of the National Wildife Refuges of Rhode Island and the US Fish and Wildflife Service. Flores will have a studio in the complex which will allow her to develop a rapport with the resident naturalists and the surrounding environment. During the year she will create two sculptural projects that punctuate special places along the trails. She will also implement two new public programs that celebrate the connections between art and nature: "Green Cafe" is an evening film and lecture series that features contemporary artists addressing our connection with nature. The Cafe events are scheduled for the third Friday of each month during the Spring and Fall. Flores will also conduct Saturday workshops for “children on all ages” in the Spring. Entitled "Drawn to Nature," these workshops will use the arts to explore and respond to the local landscape.

Ana Flores is a sculptor, environmentalist and community arts advocate who lives in Charlestown , Rhode Island and Nova Scotia , Canada . Her own sculptural work is a response to the environment; “a dialogue with nature and place”. Since 1995 these dialogues have evolved out of the studio and into public spaces, nationally and abroad. She has designed public art and sculptures for institutions and parks, created events, shows and courses that encourage more dialogue between art and nature; between artists and scientists. In 2001 she coordinated the “Gaia Dialogues,” a forum for Rhode Island artists, environmentalists and educators to come together to share knowledge and resources and collaborate on environmental projects in the community. Locally, she has taught and designed interdisciplinary courses for the Rhode Island School of Design and Bryant University which engage both art and science, and primarily using the community/environment as the classroom. For more about Flores and her work visit her web site at: www.art-farm.net. Contact Ana.

Funded by the Rhode Island Foundation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service