Creator of WaterFire Providence looks back on how it all began

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Artist Barnaby Evans, the founder and co-director of WaterFire Providence, said his unique vision for the City of Providence came to fruition 28 years ago.

“Ideally it’s a place of total freedom. You don’t pay admission, there’s no line, there’s no reserved seats, you can come and engage with the space exactly how you feel like you would to engage that night, and that freedom is very unusual,” Evans explained.

It first started when Evans moved to Providence to attend Brown University in 1971. Evans was studying topics including art, urbanism, and architecture.

“But primarily, I was interested in the interaction of the built-in environment with the natural world, so — environmental studies,” Evans said.

Evans told ABC 6 News that he fell in love with Providence and knew he wanted to make the city better in someway.

“I started to look at these public interactions in urban environments and wondered how art could change the way people behave in a public place and whether you could use art to rebuild a sense of community,” Evans continued.

According to the artist, not many of the surrounding buildings at Waterplace Park were there during the 1980’s or if they were built, they were empty. He explained that there were also few restaurants open in the summer. The city was missing something in Evans’ eyes.

Evans said he recalled that the state was taking on a large project to uncover the rivers in Providence.

“[I] thought that might be an opportunity to use that new beginning of the river as a place to think about Providence in a new light,” said Evans.

After meeting with many city and state officials and lots of planning, Evans put on the first WaterFire Providence during the summer of 1994.

He said the main goal was to bring a new sense of life to downtown, all while using the river as a representation of life flowing through the city.

“Sort of as a phoenix rises from the fire, that was my intention. I didn’t expect to be doing it 29 years later and still doing it. My dad says so you’ve lit WaterFire 500 times and you still can’t get it right? But you know, that’s what dads say right?” explained Evans.

500 lightings later and Evans said he’s still trying to make each one better than the next.