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Living Color

A new mural brings beauty and safety to the Broad Street cultural corridor

In partnership with The Public’s Radio • ThePublicsRadio.org By James Baumgartner

Overhead view of Public & Daboll streets, near Broad Street

When you go to Broad Street in Providence, you’ll see a street that is radically different from what it was just a few months ago. Among the changes is a street mural at the corner of Public and Daboll streets. The Public’s Radio Artscape producer James Baumgartner spoke with Rhode Island Latino Arts director Marta Martínez, who helped to facilitate the project, as well as René Gómez, the artist who designed and painted the mural.

René Gómez: It’s an asphalt mural. It’s a different type of mural. It’s not on a traditional wall, it’s actually on the street. It is very colorful. The colors are inspired by where I’m from, the Dominican Republic, and the traditional houses down there which are very bright, very Caribbean-looking. And also right across the street, there is a church, and also the stained glass inspired the design.

James Baumgartner: The intersection is a very wide stretch of asphalt where two streets come together at a narrow angle. There’s a bright purple house at the corner, like a miniature flatiron building. What was the intersection like before the painting?

Gómez: I’ll be honest with you – a little scary. I would, you know, have to watch my back here and there because cars were speeding. The street right next to it is a one way, but most people use it as a two way. So yeah, I hope it really reduces the speed and makes people slow down with this piece of artwork. Baumgartner: This is part of Broad Street renovations in total, right? So what is that like? What else is there going on?

Gómez: There is a brand new, what is called an urban trail or a bike path that was implemented on Broad Street. New bus islands, I guess they call it. And it’s just changing Broad Street to make it a lot safer. More pedestrian friendly, basically.

Baumgartner: Marta Martínez is executive director of Rhode Island Latino Arts, who hosted an event at Public and Daboll Thursday, August 25, 2022 to bring people out to the mural.

Marta Martínez: It’s going to be the first time that we use it as what I’m going to call a stage. We’ve been hosting what we call a Museo del Barrio on Broad Street. And that translates into the museum of the neighborhood, or the museum of the people. And it’s an activity and program run by Rhode Island Latino Arts, where we just bring art to the people in Broad Street, and it’s brought by artists who are of Latino heritage. Most of them, if I can, I select those who actually live or grew up in the neighborhood. So it’s a way of them, like, giving back to the neighborhood or coming back home, and showing their art to their neighbors. The space is – the city is hoping to use it to bring people together and I thought, well, what a better way to bring it together than to bring them the Museo and use it. And we’re going to offer handson art projects by artists. René is going to be there as one of the artists. And we’re going to do some bachata sessions where you can just learn some simple bachata steps, and a drumming circle. So it’s something for the entire family.

Baumgartner: René, what sort of art projects are you going to have for people who come to the event [tonight]?

Gómez: Basically, almost like a paint and vino kind of thing, except no vino. So yeah, so it’s going to be like, you know, you have your own little easel, a canvas and paint, and then we just have some fun doing some art.

Baumgartner: Sort of like a guided painting?

Gómez: Yes, exactly.

Martínez: I like to look at Broad Street as like a giant canvas that we want to put art on. And René also just finished up another mural closer to The Bomes Theatre. He did one on the wall. So, that’s an example. We’ve painted a couple of electrical boxes. We’ve set up some puppeteering and dance. So it’s art that’s happening on Broad Street, and the Museo del Barrio and the mural are just a little piece of what I’d like to bring to Broad Street in terms of art.

Baumgartner: You can see the mural anytime at the corner of Public and Daboll Streets, right off of Broad.

This story was originally posted on August 25, 2022. James Baumgartner can be reached at James@ThePublicsRadio.org