BWxD's Spring Series finale headliner, Yarrow Thorne RISD '12

 The final installment of Better World by Design’s Spring Series was headlined by RISD alum and public arts pioneer Yarrow Thorne.  Thorne has spent the last few years navigating the red tape surrounding the creation of public art in Providence, and has founded The Avenue Concept, an organization that connects local artists with public art opportunities.  He is also in the process of pitching and developing a public art program at RISD.  If his name isn’t enough to suggest he’s legit, just take a look at his shirt: 

The Avenue Concept hopes to create a mutualistic relationship between the city and the artist, and thus far has built many rotating sculpture pads in addition to procuring designated areas for legal graffiti in the Downtown Providence area.  These opportunities provide Providence artists (seventy of whom were hired last year alone) with work as well as publicity.  Works facilitated by the The Avenue Concept thus far include the Cultural Corridor between Classical and Central High Schools, and more notably the massive murals painted by Bezt and Natalia Rak.

"She Never Came" by Bezt

Yarrow also focuses on the benefits that art brings to the city.  He hopes to one day see a Providence that truly resembles its wealth of artistic culture, and wants people to slow down and inhabit the city they live in, not just use it as a means of transport, business, etc.  Legal graffiti murals also serve as an effective means to deter illegal defacement of property.  According to Thorne, areas where murals have been commissioned have seen reduced crime.

"Adventure Time" by Natalia Rak, opposite Bezt's work

The Avenue Concept is only beginning in what it has planned the Providence area.  One tentative project is a painted stair project on the massive set of stairs running through College Hill.  They also hope to install grate lights and sapling trees in Kennedy Plaza, which will be able to coordinate with various types of music.  The plaza will be safer by night time, and will be technologically interactive.Images via, via and via.