Annual Report 2020-21
firstworks.org
We were thrilled to play music outdoors in such a beautiful setting; to see old friends and meet new ones. Still smiling from the joy! —Michelle Kaminsky, Artist, Mini-Magnolia
FIRSTWORKS has navigated
the ever-shifting landscape by focusing on emergent priorities: nurturing partnerships, creating access for Rhode Islanders, investing in firsts, and lifting voices in our local community. Our Virtual Learning programs have been connecting Rhode Island students with world-class artists. Using technology, we built cultural bridges between professional music studios in Mexico City and Buenos Aires and high school students in Providence and Central Falls. Throughout the winter and spring, we engaged audiences nationally with livestreamed festival programming.
We created access through pay-what-you-can and virtual programs. We brought world
All the while we have been building back the economic vitality of some of the most
music and dance into your homes and heard from prolific artists like Wynton Marsalis, on what it means to be creating art today, in this landscape.
devastated industries—by creating jobs and opportunities for artists, technicians, and performers. We are knitting together communities through the common language of experience.
Our joyous return to live performance in the parks celebrated the indomitable spirit of the arts, lifting up the exuberance of Cajun Creole, the poignant story-telling of Indigenous voices, the evocative sounds of the Spanish Caribbean, and much more. Crowds joined us to safely relish live performances set against the backdrop of Providence’s beautiful parks.
We continue to move forward reating new work, stewarding c community, and as always, curating world-class arts experiences. Thank you for your support. With your help we are creating joy, finding hope and boldly embracing our next season. .
Kathleen Pletcher Executive Artistic Director
COVER IMAGE : Urban Latin Dance Theatre, CONTRA-TIEMPO, Spring 2021
2%
2020-21 FINANCIALS
Over $300,000 secured in COVID Relief funding enabled us to provide valuable assistance to the cultural community and produce free virtual programs throughout the pandemic. Owing to these funds, we had an operational surplus in FY21, which has allowed us to fill vacant staff positions and create a Board fund that will steady the organization and help us prepare for our future.
11%
Revenue
6%
81%
10%
Support
$901,099
Individuals
$63,052
Partnerships
$24,991
Earned Income
$125,822
Expenses
22%
68%
$1,114,963
$973,823
Program Services
$667,024
Administration & Operations
$214,547
Fundraising
$92,253
Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2021, pre-audit
The Outdoors is the New Indoors The FirstWorks GLOBAL JOURNEYS pop-up concert series invited audiences to gather safely for live, socially distanced performances with local and international flavor. Free to all, and set against the backdrop of gorgeous Roger Williams Park, music-lovers joined FirstWorks to celebrate summer and the joyous return to live performance. PVDFEST SUMMER HAPPENINGS brought
TOP: Concertgoers enjoyed a
Global Journeys performance at Roger Williams Park on the Dalrymple Boathouse Lawn. ABOVE: Musician Yacouba Diabate
shared the virtuosic traditions of the griot, or West African troubadour, with FirstWorks audiences.
curated celebrations to virtual stages, parks, and neighborhoods throughout Providence, reigniting the energy of our creative capital. As co-founder and co-producer of PVDFest, Rhode Island’s premiere performing arts festival, FirstWorks embraced nontraditional performance models to amplify connection and catalyze engagement throughout the city.
EXPERIENCE
Finding new pathways to arts access, FirstWorks brought audiences on a journey of hope, reflection, and gratitude in 2020-21. On our live and virtual stages, we connected audiences to world-class performances from local and national artists, and offered in-depth learning experiences.
Arts for All URBAN CARNEVALE, a free virtual music
festival, invited audiences to experience local luminaries representing wide-ranging genres and national artistic partners, including longtime collaborators Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet. The internationally renowned septet anchored the festival with their virtual premiere of “The Democracy! Suite.”
An Arts Incubator Nurturing new works is an emergent initiative at FirstWorks and reflects our commitment to fostering national and local artists as essential partners in supporting “firsts” in the arts. In 2020-21, our COMMISSIONING PROGRAM helped develop nine new works, including “Holiday Sauce…Pandemic!” by MacArthur Genius Taylor Mac. Mac’s first work re-envisioned for the virtual world, the performance was co-commissioned alongside 18 organizations worldwide.
Building Back the Creative Economy FirstWorks was thrilled to partner with Rhode Island Commerce to provide support for extraordinary local arts enterprises. Our UPLIFT PROJECT asked prescient questions about what it means to make your livelihood as an artist today. The project reached over 6,000 in 2020-21 and provided a cohort of 10 local creatives with coaching and tools designed to help them adapt their businesses and continue to inspire our community.
Thank you for sustaining us through difficult times, and for lifting up our collective vision to the future. —Audience Member, Urban Carnevale
100 TOP to BOTTOM : Long-time FirstWorks collab-
orator, Wynton Marsalis; Hip-hop artist Chachi Carvalho delighted FirstWorks virtual audiences; Entertainer, activist, and artist Lady J Jess Brown emceed the Urban Carnevale festival; and Taylor Mac returned to the FirstWorks stage with a commissioned holiday celebration.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES for creatives
RELEVANCE
Wonderful and thought-provoking. We need more of these shared Building Back the Creative Economy experiences in our world.
—CARTOGRAPHY Residency Participants
Responding to the changing landscape, FirstWorks showcased stories and experiences that resonate with our community. CARTOGRAPHY engaged audiences through
TOP: Miwa Matreyek’s “Infinitely Yours,”
sparked reflections on art and activism. ABOVE:The livestream performance,
CARTOGRAPHY, empowered viewers to share their experiences of searching for home.
stunning visuals and deeply human narratives of modern-day migration, woven from young refugees’ accounts of their journeys. The livestream perfomance, which reached 200 students, combined simple storytelling with interactive video, and was followed by an artist talk and workshops. FirstWorks celebrated EARTH DAY with acclaimed multimedia artist Miwa Matreyek, whose work “Infinitely Yours” illustrates the complex harm humanity causes to the Earth. An emotionally impactful illustration of what it means for us to be living in a changing world, Matrayek’s shadow shape shifts through visionary animations traversing natural vistas and cityscapes.
9
70k
NEW WORKS COMMISSIONED
VIRTUAL PROGRAM VIEWS
Following FirstWorks’ premiere of “The Democracy! Suite”—a response to the political, social, and economic struggles facing our nation—Wynton Marsalis and WBGH’s Eric Jackson joined Kathleen Pletcher for a CREATIVE CONVERSATION about the power of music to effect social change.
LEARNING
FirstWorks Arts Education combines the power of the arts and experiential learning to promote student success in school, work, and life. Since its launch in 2009, the program has grown from serving 125 students to more than 5,000, inperson, across 40 public and charter schools.
Fostering International Connections In October, virtual residencies with Argentine musicians Fidel Nadal and Sofía Viola allowed FirstWorks to connect more than 400 students with artists across global borders amid lockdown. Nadal and Viola joined FirstWorks for an uplifting series of online engagements, which included student workshops with multilingual learners in Providence Schools. FirstWorks aims to present artists as culturally and linguistically diverse as our community to generate inclusion and celebrate our differences. Within our education program, it is critical to create opportunities that allow youth to not only see, but to interact with, artists who look just like them.
200 FirstWorks brings great opportunities to multilanguage learners. —Yomely Marte, Teacher, Nowell Leadership Academy
EDUCATORS REACHED
20k VIRTUAL LEARNING VIEWS
30+ WORKSHOPS OFFERED
Exploring Careers in the Arts The multiweek pilot program BEHIND THE CURTAIN, connected youth with career artists, nonprofit, and production professionals with ties to the Ocean State. A partnership between FirstWorks and the Rhode Island Department of Education, the afterschool enrichment course offered high school students the resources and connections to help them maintain focus and motivation for their interests, or careers, within the arts. OPPOSITE PAGE: Sofia Viola joined FirstWorks from her mother’s bright and colorful
kitchen in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Latin Grammy Award nominee Fidel Nadal connected students with music from Mexio City; LEFT: Students and educators from Nowell Leadership Academy enjoyed workshops with LatinX artists.
Celebrating a FirstWorks Education Champion Founding FirstWorks Board member Jorge Cardenas was a pillar in the Providence community. Passionate about advancing quality of life for students and their families, he was known for his volunteerism, mentorship, and Board service at several organizations. Born in Callao, Peru, Jorge championed the growth of FirstWorks Arts Education programs, applauding the expansion of our bilingual study guides, and deepening our work with ESL students. In 1999, he founded the Back to School Celebration Program which he proudly grew over two decades, ultimately providing over 16,000 children with backpacks of school supplies. We mourn the loss of this incredible man alongside the Cardenas family and the Providence arts and education communities.
OUR PEOPLE
Staff Kathleen Pletcher
Abigail Comtois Development Manager
Executive Artistic Director
Kim Najjar
Marissa Hutton
Jess Costanza
Development Associate
Senior Director of Operations
Administrative Coordinator
Suzanne Kim
Vanessa Villon
Program Director
Jamil Jorge Education Director
Meredith Cutler Marketing Manager
Board of Trustees
Kyle Adamonis
Catherine Terry Taylor
Tomás Ávila
Karen E. Silva, Ed.D, CHE
President
Bethany Benjamin
Grafton “Cap” Willey IV
Rob Panoff
Bolaji Campbell
Board Advisors Dr. Robert J. Allio Deming E. Sherman, Esq.
Vice President
Melissa E. Darigan, Esq. Vice President
Wendy Kagan Siu-Li Khoe H. Jack Martin
Fundraising Operations Assistant
Kevin S. Hundley, CPA Treasurer
Jeanette Palmer
Mary Gagnon and Kathy Butts
Krystle Tadesse
David Pellegrino
Secretary
J. Richard Ratcliffe, Esq.
Vitalo-Gagnon, Fiscal Management
Sydney Skybetter
Chair Emeritus Frederick K. Butler, Esq. President Emeritus Norman G. Benoit, Esq. Honorary Trustee Alan Chille
ou can make the arts available to all! Your generous support helps enrich the lives of students, strengthen the cultural fabric of our community, and create opportunities for artists. Thank you! e v i t a e rC s r e n tr a P Bank of Ameria c Charitabe l Foundation Brown Arts Inita i tive Carter Famy l i Charitabe l Trust National Endowe m nt for the Arts New Enga l nd Foundation for the Arts Rhode Island Come m rce Rhode Island Foundation Rhode Island State Councl i on the Arts
g n i t ne s r P s r e n tr a P The CDQ Charitabe l Trust The Chap m n il Foundation The City of Providence
r 5 e ,7 t s n 2 i e m t s r S iW u 1 0 5 , ec n d i v I o R r3 P 0 9 2 0 firstworks.org
u J ne Roce kw l Levy Foundation National Grid Foundation Providence Tourism Councl i Rhode Island Councl i for the u H a m nite i s Textron Charitabe l Trust The Otto . H o Y rk Foundation
y t i n u m oC s r e n tr a P
n U ti ed a W y of Rhode Island
s d l r o eG n t r a P Blak c Pha l i nthropy Bannister Fund Fidelti y Investments Grace .K and e W sley S. Alpert Charitabe l Foundation Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Navia g nt Credit n U o i n
sr e v n l tr i Sa P
AAA Northeast BankNewport e D partment of Art, Culture and Tourism Cox Comu m nia c tions Murray Famy l i Charitabe l Foundation Nordson Corporation Foundation Providence Cole l e g Steer PVD
Alpa h NetSolutions, Inc. Ama ci Companies Foundation BankRI a H rborOne Foundation Ida Balo l u Littlefied l Memorial Trust Loce k Lord Neio b h g rhood e H alth Plan of Rhode Island Ocean State Charite i s Trust
Pawtuce k t Credit n U o i n Providence Media The Providence Shetl er Pubs ’ci l Radio Rhode Island Sco h ol of e D sin g Tanner Memorial Fund The o J n h Clarke Trust
s e z rn o t r B a P e D tl a e D ntal of Rhode Island Mule l n Scorpio & Cerii l Sodexo Educational Servie c s The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company The Providence Rotary Charite i s Foundation e W stern Arts Ala i l nce
s r’ o t a r uC e l c r iC Anonyo m us e l y K A. Adamonis Robert .J Alo il Ashe l y & Peter Barrett Norm & Nancy Benoit Maria Bernal Fred & o J e c y Butler Roberta Butler & Abo b tt Ikee l r Mels i sa a D ria g n & Mark Male Ela zi e b th e D s b Laura o D nahue
: Aba ig l i Comtois, Erin X. Smti e h rs, Ela m n Studio, Gaye l Laird; Addito i nal Imae g so c urtesy of Pomerg anate Arts and Artists.
Y H O PRG A T H P Y B
Ele i l Ferguson a K tharine & Larry Fln y n e K vin & a K ren u H ndley e J an L. e K ti h e W ndy MacGaw Paul & Lisa Mc Gartoll a K ra & a D vid Min l er Robert & a J nie c Panoff a K the l en Pletce h r &a J y Coogan Ria h c rd & Margaret Ratcfi l fe e J remy & Paula Sager a K tie Scn i h dall Mary Sherlok c e D n im g & a J ne Sherman a i l iW m a W rren & Ele i l Siee g l Catherine & Robert Tayo l r FRIST EMTI FDNUERS
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