NEWS

Fire destroys public art project in Providence

Madeleine List
mlist@providencejournal.com
The Providence police are investigating the fire that destroyed the sculpture outside the Wexford Innovation Center.

PROVIDENCE – The public art installation outside the Wexford Innovation Center was destroyed by fire early Monday morning, according to a statement from Providence City Councilman John Goncalves.

The piece, “Like a buoy, like a barrel,” was made from collected raw plastics by visual artist Steven Siegel and installed last year.

Police are investigating the cause of the fire, according to Goncalves.

“What I do know is this: our community will not stand for the destruction of public or private property,” Goncalves, who represents Ward 1, where the art installation is located, said in a statement. “I am thankful that no one was hurt.”

Yarrow Thorne, founder and executive director of The Avenue Concept, the Providence-based public art nonprofit that commissioned the piece, said in a statement that he was saddened by the destruction of the sculpture.

“This was truly public art, with hundreds of people across the state participating in its creation by collecting, washing and preparing the raw materials from which Steven Siegel assembled the first major art installation in Providence’s new Innovation District,” his statement says.

mlist@providencejournal.com

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A pedestrian investigates the large public sculpture outside of the Wexford building at 225 Point Street in Providence last October. The work, entitled "Like a buoy, like a barrel" is by Steven Siegel, from Hudson Valley in New York, and was done in collaboration with The Avenue Concept.