Providence Elementary Students to Present Oral History of their Neighborhood

Vartan Gregorian elementary students use art through the I WAS THERE Project to tell history of Fox Point; Public invited on June 16.

For the last six months, over a hundred fourth and fifth grade students at the Vartan Gregorian Elementary School have been learning about the ties between their neighborhood of Fox Point, the rich history of the jewelry industry in Providence and the lives of local factory workers. A final production of their studies titled, "I WAS THERE 2011: HAMMERING OUT A LIVING" will be on exhibit on Thursday, June 16 from 6-7:30 PM at Vartan Gregorian located at 455 Wickenden Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Attendees can also view works by Vartan Gregorian first and second graders, and lower grade special needs students who participated in a project called "I COME FROM," that explored one's own cultural identity and sense of place through the creation of poetry and self-portraits.

A slide show of hundreds of images featuring the six-month project will be presented in the school's auditorium, along with audio snipets of interviews of jewelry factory and industry workers, including the wisdom of 89 year-old, Fox Pointer, Hilda Brasil who was a factory worker for many years, and Peter DiCristafaro, the founder of The Providence Jewelry Museum.

About the Project
The "I WAS THERE" Project is a highly integrated Arts-Based Learning program that strives to preserve and celebrate the history of Fox Point, Providence, Rhode Island. "Hammering Out A Living" features twenty-four jewelry collections handmade by the students. Under the direction of artist-in-residence, Amie Plante, students worked together in teams for four weeks to create concept drawings, company names as well as design and make their own collection of jewelry that connected with themes assigned by Ms. Plante, such as Flights of Fancy and Coral Garden.

Students also worked with Writer-in-Residence, Susan Hradil and Historian-in-Residence, Virginia Laffey, to create a "Hammering Out A Living" Program which goes behind the scenes and details the process of the six-month residency. Featured highlights inside the program are student written pieces detailing: the story of Jenny's Pin and the global impact that Providence had on the jewelry industry, oral history interviewee profiles, the process of electroplating, why Providence became the center of costume jewelry production, and a bar graph that shows the number of factory workers per decade in Providence from 1810- 2000.

First and second grade students worked with Poet-in-Residence, Christopher Johnson, and Artist-in-Residence, Andrew Sloan for eight weeks. Guest Poet, Rudy Cabrera, also performed poetry for the lower grade students.

Community partners include: The John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University, The Providence Jewelry Museum, Technic, Susan Hradil, Virginia Laffey, and Amie Plante. I WAS THERE 2011 is made possible by our generous supporters: Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, and The John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University.

For more information, visit their blog at www.IWASTHEREPROJECT.org.