A square, tiled, white-walled room with black grout lines, with a small black object on the floor.
Book cover titled 'Providence Cabinet of Curiosities', with images of a chicken, purple flowers, and insects inside three arched illustrations on a purple background.

A Mural of Community Stories

Add your object and story to a new mural in Downtown Providence

We always carry with us objects that hold important stories. These may be things that live with us in our homes, are passed from generation to the next, live out in public space, or are tucked safely in the time capsules we take with us. Maybe they only exist in a memory now, but the story lives on. These precious things, what stories do they hold? These are stories that make up who we are. People define a place, and together these stories are woven into the soul of Providence. 

Do you have a special object that holds a story that connects you to this city? If so, share your story of this object so that it becomes part of the Providence Cabinet of Curiosities mural in Downtown Providence!

The Providence Cabinet of Curiosities (aka PVD Curio) is a love letter to our community; a mural and storytelling project that invites residents of Providence to share the objects and memories that are meaningful to their lives and root them to this place.

Providence Cabinet of Curiosities is a public art project is led by artist and cultural practitioner Shey 'Rí Acu' Rivera Ríos — founder of Studio Loba; with audio production by nan joubá and shubbapoi. The mural installation is produced by The Avenue Concept in collaboration with AS220 and Amber Art and Design; and in partnership with the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism and the Mayor's Office.

The visual installation will be unveiled as part of PVD Fest in September 6, 2025.

Listen to the stories below

A digital graphic with dark blue background featuring logos and text for an event or organization. Logos include a green tree, a line art hand with a geometric shape, the AS220 logo, Shubappoi logo, and text mentioning The Avenue Concept, StudioLoba, AS220, Shubappoi, and art, culture, tourism, and Providence.