FUNDS FROM RI STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS TO BE USED TO KICKSTART RENOVATION OF DECOMISSIONED SCHOOL ON BRISTOL TOWN COMMONS 
BRISTOL, RI – January 19, 2017 In a media event today held at Linden Place, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts’ Executive Director Randall Rosenbaum awarded Bristol-based Arts in Common a $50,000 grant to support the organization’s proposal to transform the decommissioned Walley School into a center for arts and culture. 
A collaboration between local artists and arts organizations, the town of Bristol, Roger Williams University (RWU), and community members, Arts in Common embraces and supports the shared goal to stimulate, make accessible, and sustain arts activities and organizations that promote educational, economic, and cultural growth. 
Accepting the award for Arts in Common was Chairman Michael Rich, accompanied by Bristol Town Administrator Steven Contente. “We’re excited for the vote of confidence and support of the Rhode Island Council on the Arts of this effort to help fund a truly collaborative space for arts and culture,” said Mr. Rich. 
He added, “We at Arts in Common believe that art has the power to transform lives and transform communities for the better. A revitalized and repurposed Walley School that integrates artists and arts organizations, students, and members of the community will serve Bristol’s residents, increase collaboration between local organizations, generate economic activity, and foster appreciation of local historic and cultural assets.” Mr. Rich is also a professor and serves as program director of Visual Arts at RWU. 
“Our plan to transform Walley uniquely brings together public and private resources to create a dynamic new model for scalable, sustainable adaptive reuse of this cornerstone landmark on Bristol Town Commons,” said architect and Bristol resident Craig Fisher, Vice Chair of Arts in Common. Mr. Fisher and and local architect John Lusk are leading the Walley Transfomation initiative. 
“Roger Williams University is delighted about the possibility of being an anchor tenant for a portion of the building. Doing so not only provides RWU students in visual arts a richer academic experience via access to local artists and cultural professionals but also supports this important local initiative and helps further community engagement,” said Andrew Workman, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at RWU.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Amaral Visiting Artist Series inaugural lecture to feature interdisciplinary artist Yu-Wen Wu 
WEDNESDAY MAY 25, 6-7 PM BRISTOL STATEHOUSE, 240 HIGH ST, BRISTOL RI

BRISTOL, RI – April 25, 2016  Amaral Custom Fabrications, in partnership with Arts In Common, is excited to announce its inaugural visiting artist lecture that will feature internationally renowned artist Yu-Wen Wu, who is currently working on a large-scale commission with Amaral for the Harvard University Chao Center. Wu will deliver an hour-long presentation and discussion about her work. The lecture is free and open to the public. 

BRISTOL, RI – APRIL 25, 2016   Amaral Custom Fabrications, in partnership with Arts In Common, is excited to announce its inaugural visiting artist lecture that will feature internationally renowned artist Yu-Wen Wu, who is currently working on a large-scale commission with Amaral for the Harvard University Chao Center.

Wu will deliver an hour-long presentation and discussion about her work. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Born in Taipei and practicing in Boston, Yu-Wen Wu is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores universal connectedness, interdependency, and the persistence of change. She distills the transitory and migratory nature of our natural and built environments, incorporating the visual language of data and transforming it into abstract narratives.
Through drawing, video art, and installation, her work bridges cultures, art and science, imagination, and documentation.

“It is not common knowledge, but there is a roster of internationally-renowned artists who come through Bristol to work with Amaral Custom Fabrications—builders of world-class monumental and public sculpture,” said Bradley Wester, artist and one of the founders of Arts In Common, who worked with Paul Amaral to create the series. 

“This program is designed to give our community access to these exceptional artists, while giving these artists the chance to discover the riches of Bristol, and then telling the world,” said Paul Amaral, President and Founder of Bristol-based Amaral Custom Fabrications. “And special thanks to The Town of Bristol, The Statehouse Foundation and Roger Williams University for their support to make this series possible.” 

About the Artist
Yu-Wen Wu has exhibited extensively at galleries and museums around the country and internationally, winning numerous awards and fellowships, including a NEFA Painting Fellowship and a Traveling Scholars Award from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She received her degrees from Brown University and School of the Museum of Fine Arts. She is represented by Miller Yezerski Gallery in Boston, MA. For more information on the artist, visit www.yuwenwu.com or www.milleryezerskigallery.com.

About Amaral Custom Fabrications
Drawing upon the boat building tradition of Narragansett Bay, Amaral Custom Fabrications fuses old-world craftsmanship with modern fabrication techniques to realize world-class monumental and public sculptures. Amaral has worked with some of the greatest and most widely recognized artists and sculptors of our time including Claes Oldenberg, the Roy Lichtenstein and Keith Haring Foundations, Jeff Koons, José Parla, and many more. For more information, please call (401) 396-5663, email [email protected] or visit amaralcf.com.

About Arts In Common
Born from the idea of an arts district centered around the town common, Arts in Common believes that arts and culture will provide Bristol the imagination and energy to repurpose three decommissioned school buildings and transform a 17th century town common into a 21st century space for creative civic life. A collaboration between local artists and arts organizations, the town of Bristol, Roger Williams University, and community members, Arts in Common embraces and supports the shared goals to stimulate, make accessible, and sustain arts activities and organizations that promote educational, economic, and cultural growth. For more information, visit artsincommon.weebly.com.

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