Open Valley Spring ‘26 Participant RSVP is Live!
Open Valley
May 2, 2026, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Valley, Providence, RI
Free and Open to All
OPEN is pleased to announce that we (Ben) have been supporting scout—owners of the fantastic 50 Sims building—on a new initiative called Open Valley. Sort of an open studios event meets neighborhood crawl. For the full picture and up-to-date info, navigate over to 50 Sims’ site here.
Starting with 50 Sims as your Welcome Center, Open Valley is an opportunity to discover the amazing artists, artisans, non profits, small businesses and beyond who call Valley home. Walk the amazing Woonasquatucket River Greenway Bike Path and consider the area’s central role in the industrial revolution. Visit contemporary studios and galleries, and learn how Valley helps define our Creative Capital. Look at all the still-in-use ceramic insulators on our telephone poles!
You’ll encounter screen printers, ceramists, glass artists and jewelry makers. You’ll find distillers, brewers, and roasters alongside graphic designers, fiber artists, vintage retail, and genres. And because it’s Providence, you can expect a lot of grassroots, super-inclusive DIY energy around every turn.
Artists & Studios, Get Involved!
We’ve got a lot of interest from artists at 50 Sims, Make Do Studios, Nicholson File Studios, Teatra ECAS, Binch Press/Queer.Archive.Work, Gather Glass / Gather Ice Cream, The Womxn Project, Acorn Studios, and many more. ISCO and Buttonwoods Brewery will be open, and New Harvest is hosting an opening reception in partnership with Farm Fresh. Momentum is building—if you’re a studio or artist in Valley and would like to participate, sign up and we’ll be in touch ASAP.
Please be sure your studio building allows participation before signing up.
Lofty Goals
Together, we can grow our community, foster collaboration, promote public health, and advocate for improvements to civic infrastructure that benefit all artists, small businesses, and Valley residents. Valley is not a currently designated arts district, nor does it have a small business association. Open Valley offers participants increased visibility and voice to ensure future development here happens (or doesn’t) in ways that maximize the quality of life for as many people as possible. If this goes well, we’ll be back in the fall. Then perhaps every spring and every fall!
Images: 1. 50 Sims, 2. Annalisa Oswald Studio, 3. Guatemalan Center of New England. Open Vally is presented by 50 Sims. Open Valley is supported in part by The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and is proud to promote the ongoing work of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council.
