AS220's Empire Street Complex, Providence

AS220’s Empire Street Complex is a multidisciplinary arts centre combining exhibition rooms, performance venues, studios and social spaces within renovated historic buildings. AS220 began as an artist-run organisation in 1985 and purchased the complex in 1992. After extensive renovation, it opened here in 1993, providing a permanent base for artists, theatre groups and community programmes.

The ground floor contains the Main Stage, which hosts concerts, poetry readings, comedy, films and public discussions while also serving as a gallery. Nearby, the smaller Black Box presents theatre, experimental performances and intimate music events. Changing exhibitions appear in the Main Gallery, Aborn Gallery and street-facing windows. AS220’s unjuried, uncensored policy allows local artists to show work without conventional selection.

Other parts of the complex include a community darkroom, youth studio, dance space, artist live-work studios and the informal Psychic Readings performance room. The bar functions as a gathering place before and after events, and its walls and surrounding galleries often display local art. Visitors may encounter live music, theatre, gallery openings, workshops or small community events, depending on the programme scheduled for that day.