David Dvorchak

Since the beginning, artists have gathered and organized at AS220 in order to create the world they needed to exist. This spirit of collaboration to bring about new realities remains crucial to the AS220 community today. One of the many ways we support this spirit is by offering affordable studios that allow artists to sustain their practice and take part in a creative ecosystem. 

That’s why we’re excited to announce the Creative Justice Lab: a group of neighboring studio spaces for artists and…

AS220 Co-Executive Directors Anjel Newmann (L), Shauna Duffy (R).

I am writing to you today with both bittersweet and exciting news for the future of AS220. 

AS220’s Co-Executive Director, Shauna Duffy, has informed the Board of Directors that she will be stepping down from her role after 11 years of service. Shauna has been…

Alex Simmons (left) rocks the Black Box while Aidan Simmons screams. Photo by Liz Tierney.

I had the pleasure of hosting Alex Simmons as an intern at AS220 for two semesters when he was a student at The Met High School in 2024-2025. Simmons family history with AS220 runs deep. Alex's father has been booking shows here since the…

Marc Leclair (left) teaching a guitar pedal workshop at SynthCube. Photo by Rob Flynn.

For the past couple years, Marc Leclair of CRAM Audio Technologies has taught DIY music electronics workshops at AS220 (and in other places around New England), helping folks build guitar pedals, hand-held synthesizers, and even theremins…

Pre-dating AS220, the “New Challenge” manifesto was penned by a group of artists between 1982 and 1983, having rallied together in response to a critical panning, from Channing Gray of The Providence Journal, of an exhibit of work by artist Umberto Crenca. The manifesto ended up being signed by only three members of that original group: Steven Emma, Martha Dempster, and Umberto Crenca. It was published in The Providence Eagle, a local alt-weekly newspaper, on April 14th. 1983. Two and a half…

On this date (April 14th) in 1983, a letter to the editor was printed in The Providence Eagle, an alt-weekly newspaper in the city. Its opening read: "It is time we artists stop harboring false hopes and come to terms with the present deteriorating situation in the arts." 

Did I say "a letter to the editor"? I apologize, it was a self-stated manifesto and challenge (indeed, the word…