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Updated 8/21/2024

FirstWorks

  • Rhode Island

    RI

Institution/Business Type: Arts Service Organization

FirstWorks is a Providence-based nonprofit organization with a mission to enrich the social, educational, and economic fabric of Rhode Island by engaging diverse audiences with world-class performing arts experiences. Our cultural initiatives catalyze partnerships that foster equitable access to the arts. 

FirstWorks was founded in 2004, as a unique public-private partnership with the newly formed Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism, in Providence, Rhode Island. We have grown to be the only First Night festival in the country operating as a year-round arts organization. We are a key partner in building Providence, RI as the “Creative Capital,” working across three mayoral administrations. We have forged collaborations with over 90 organizations to create new gateways to the arts across businesses, social services, schools, tourism, and government. 

FirstWorks’ programming provides “firsts” to the community—artists’ first appearances in Rhode Island, children’s first experiences in arts learning, first theatre experiences for under-resourced audiences and new work presented for the first time. We engage Rhode Island audiences with some of the most significant creative forces of our time including Angelique Kidjo, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Rosanne Cash, Phillip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma and Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center. 

Central to our mission is FirstWorks Arts Education—a powerful arts-integrated learning program that has grown to reach over 2,000 students in public, private, and charter schools across Rhode Island. We provide transformative arts experiences through performance matinees, artist-led, in-school workshops, and curricula guides aligned to core standards. Our duo-language Virtual Learning Series which has earned over 25,000 views across students, educators, and families. 

“FirstWorks brings to reality the multiculturalism we live in and the diversity of society in Rhode Island and across the US. Our community needs safe spaces that bring us together and allow us to make a better world" - Tomas Avila, Associate Director, RI Office of Diversity, Equity & Opportunity 

 

 

 

Find Me

Kathleen Pletcher
Job Title: Executive Artistic Director
Phone: 401-421-4278
Fax: 401-421-4282
Address:
235 Promenade Street, Suite 130
Providence, RI 02908

Additional Content:

  • FirstWorks: Connecting Art with Audiences

    FirstWorks (https://firstworks.org/) connects art with audiences year-round through arts presentation, arts learning and arts creation. We seek out, cultivate, and present a range of world-class regional, national, and international arts programming.

  • FirstWorks YouTube

    FirstWorks YouTube Channel: Subscribe for Updates and Featured Videos

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Arts Service Organization

Legal Status:

Nonprofit - Independent

Year Founded:

2004

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Arts Service Organization

Legal Status:

Nonprofit - Independent

Year Founded:

2004

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Multi-Disciplinary

Additional Disciplines:

  • Music - Traditional

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Arts for Social Change / Creative Activism
  • Creation of a Work of Art (Including Commissions)
  • Residency - In School
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Residency - Community
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 50

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • Nonprofits
  • People with Disabilities
  • School Groups
  • Teens
  • Youth-At-Risk

Languages Available:

  • Spanish

Geographic Reach:

  • Town / City
  • County
  • Multi-County Region
  • State

Accessibility of Services

Accessibility of Services:

  • Access accommodations for people who use a wheelchair and have limited mobility
  • Access accommodations for people who are blind, partially sighted, and have low vision
  • Access accommodations for people who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing

Media Gallery

Steer (Providence, RI)
Violinist playing in an open performance space
Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company dancers in contact together on stage in "What Problem?"
Students gathered at the VETS Auditorium for Student Matinee
Steer (Providence, RI)
Taylor Mac in full costume, performing on stage
Steer (Providence, RI)
Two dancers facing each other, holding hands mid-movement on stage
Chick Corea and band performing

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Professional Associations

Professional Associations:

  • Americans for the Arts, Association of Performing Arts Presenters
  • New England Presenters Association

Professional Associations

Professional Associations:

  • Americans for the Arts, Association of Performing Arts Presenters
  • New England Presenters Association

Awards

Awards:

  • Recipient - 2017 Art Works - National Endowment for the Arts
  • Recipient - 2018 Art Works - National Endowment for the Arts
  • Recipient - 2019 Art Works - National Endowment for the Arts
  • Recipient - 2020 Art Works - National Endowment for the Arts
  • Recipient - 2021 Grants for Arts Projects - National Endowment for the Arts
  • Recipient - 2022 Grants for Arts Projects - National Endowment for the Arts

Special Designations

Special Designations:

  • NEFA Grant Recipient
  • New England Presenters (NEP) Member