Call for Cultural Strategist: Cathedral Square
Summary
The City of Providence Department of Art Culture and Tourism (ACT), the Art in City Life Commission, the Providence Planning Department and the Providence Department of Housing and Human Services seeks a Cultural Strategist or Cultural Strategy Team to collaborate with the architectural subcontractors redesigning Cathedral Square during the second year of a multi-year process. Ideal candidates for this position bring proficiency in spatial and design thinking along with experience in creative, light-lift programming informed by robust community relationships.
The awarded finalist(s) will be engaged from November 2026 through October 2027, with contracting taking place in late October 2026. After an initial 6-month period of field study (Phase 1), the Cultural Strategist will present an Activation Study plan for the second 6-month period. This plan will serve as the blueprint for the Cultural Strategist’s second 6-month period (Phase 2). A final report concerning design and use recommendations for the City and its subcontractors will be due at the conclusion of the contract period. The total budget for this project is $50,000, which the awarded finalist will receive for fees and materials.
Questions about this call must be submitted in writing by August 31, 2026. Write to Rebecca Noon, ACT Deputy Director at rnoon@providenceri.gov with the subject line “Cultural Strategist: Cathedral Square.” An info-session will be hosted virtually on August 19 from 12-1pm and a recording will be posted by August 20.
Project Goals
The Department of Art, Culture and Tourism ensures the continued development of a vibrant and creative city by integrating arts and culture into community life while showcasing Providence as an international cultural destination. Per our 2025 Art in City Life plan addendum, ACT will engage Cultural Strategists where possible in order to support process-based, durational work rather than the development of pre-specified public art products such as murals. Cultural Strategists will work with governmental and nongovernmental agencies to shift ways of thinking, solve problems, and engage communities to advance mission-driven initiatives and priorities.
This project aims to integrate creative thinking into a long-term design process, with the ultimate goal of supporting current site-users (residents, employees, parishioners, and visitors) in participating in the outcomes while supporting the already-contracted architects in their ongoing design process and determine the scope, location, medium, and style of more permanent forms of public art and space use that will come in future design iterations. At the conclusion of the contract, Cultural Strategists will present their findings in an appropriate artistic form (eg, film, writing, visual, digital, etc).
The Cultural Strategist will have access to the results of previous public engagement and will interface with the Planning Department, the architects and the design consultants currently engaged. The Cultural Strategists’ scope of work and timeline will be parallel to and in conversation with the current design process for the square, with the goal that they inform each other throughout the contract period and beyond.
A Concise History of Cathedral Square
Prior to the 1960s, the area where Cathedral Square now sits was known as Doyle Square, the meeting-point of Cranston, Weybosset and Westminster Streets. At the center of the bustling square stood a statue of Mayor Thomas Doyle, surrounded by shops, apartments, rooming houses and a theater. The Cathedral Square of Saints Peter and Paul served as a landmark then, as now, and is the only element of the original square which survived urban renewal.
In 1962, architect I.M. Pei was commissioned to create the Weybosset Hill Redevelopment Plan, which focused on the clearing of “blighted buildings” and replacing them with a walkable urban center serviced by infrastructure for commuting automobiles around its periphery. Notably, the project served to create this periphery by deciding what counted as “downtown” and building a belt of automobile infrastructure that cut off adjacent neighborhoods.
Pei was a well-regarded architect of the time, and became better known in later years for projects such as the Louvre museum courtyard in Paris. Pei envisioned the square as a civic gathering space that could bring together a diversity of people and activities in one space. His original plan included commercial space on the first floors of the buildings facing the plaza, a relatively new idea at the time that was never realized in the space. His plan to include housing for a diversity of age groups was also never realized.
Today the square is surrounded by affordable housing for seniors, the Cathedral of Saints Peter ad Paul, and Bishop McVinney Auditorium. The plaza is accessible for pedestrians via Westminster St, Jackson Walkway and Fenner St. It contains a “bosque” area of densely planted trees, a sweeping set of monumental steps, and a cone-shaped fountain structure that is no longer operational. The square faces significant infrastructural challenges and needs repair and significant renovation to be accessible for those with mobility challenges, including many residents of the apartments surrounding it.
The City of Providence Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has embarked on a process to renovate and reimagine the square, including a near-term “make-safe” set of repairs, which will begin in late 2026, and a longer-term process to redesign and renovate the square for accessibility, comfort, and vibrancy. Community engagement began in Spring 2026, a design team has been hired to create a renovation plan responding to community desires, and design plans are expected to be complete in the spring of 2027.
Location and Siting
Cathedral Square describes a large area with multiple abutters and access points stretching from Empire St through the Dave Gavitt Way Connector and to the Highways. While the largest open space is the plaza is located at the head of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul/McVinney Auditorium (30 Fenner St), the map below describes the scope of this project, which includes many pedestrian-only walkways, terraced courtyards, a bosque area of densely-planted trees, a sweeping set of monumental steps, and a cone-shaped fountain structure that is no longer operational.
The Square faces significant infrastructural challenges and needs repair and significant renovation and is in a long-term redesign process, which promises to make urgent repair needs in the short-term and eventually redesign the entire scope of the space, including its shape and circulation.
Project Budget
The total project budget is $50,000, inclusive of artist fees, materials, equipment, and subcontractors. The awarded Cultural Strategist or team will receive a total of $50,000 to complete both phases of the study. The Cultural Strategist may choose to allocate funds to artists, assistants, interpreters, or community members.
Eligibility
- Lead applicants must be twenty-one (21). Providence residents are preferred.
- Public artists and artist teams of any medium with demonstrated experience in art-making.
- Awarded applicants must be able to procure a Certificate of Insurance (COI) for general liability in the amount of $1,000,000.00 that names the City of Providence as additionally insured.
- Strong sense of self-direction and ability to manage independent and collaborative work.
- Passion for Providence’s arts, culture, diversity, creativity and commitment to public space.
- Experience in community engagement, including design, implementation and quantifying outcomes.
- Strong imagination with enthusiasm for illustrating possible futures.
- Flexible schedule.
- Experience in light-lift outdoor/pop-up programming.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite.
- Relationships with many kinds of communities in Providence.
- Ability to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders.
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Ability to interact appropriately with colleagues and external partners, orally and in writing.
- Confidence in spatial-thinking, eg architecture, scenography, visual art mediums, etc.
- Stamina to persevere through layers of bureaucracy and community need.
- Bilingual fluency in English and Spanish preferred, but not required.
Art Selection Method and Timeline
Artists will be selected through a competitive, two-tiered process.
PART ONE, APPLICATION:
Qualified artists may submit:
- A resume with a cover letter that clearly articulates interest in Cathedral Square and qualifications for the position. A video recording of this articulation is also accepted as a link.
- A budget proposal illustrating an overall plan for Phase 1 and Phase 2. The total project budget is $50,000, which includes any materials or subcontractors.
- A link to either an artist website or project-specific work that supports your experience in spatial-thinking and/or community-supportive work.
- The name, phone number, and email addresses of three references that would be comfortable speaking to your fit for the position.
Applicants must apply online by September 8 at 11:59pm through ACT on the form below.
Selecting Semifinalists
In mid-September 2026, the Selection Panel will review complete applications and score the submitted qualifications, limiting the selection pool to no more than three semifinalist Cultural Strategist or Cultural Strategy teams.
PART TWO, INTERVIEW:
The three semifinalists will be invited to attend individual 30-minute interviews with members of the Selection Panel from ACT, Planning, and Housing and Human Services. Interviews will be conducted on-line or in-person, based on the finalist’s preference and will take place between September 17 and 23, 2026.
Recommendation
The Selection Panel will recommend awarded finalist and alternate to the Art in City Life Commission for approval at the September 24, 2026 regular meeting. The Department of Art, Culture and Tourism will announce the approved Cultural Strategist: Cathedral Square no later than November 1, 2026 with the final report due October 31, 2027.
Selection Panel
The Selection Panel will be composed of five members including:
- Art in City Life Commissioner
- Planning Department Staff
- Two ACT Staff
- Housing and Human Services Staff
Selection Criteria
Semifinalists will be selected based on the following criteria, as evidenced by previous work:
- Experience in creative public engagement
- Experience working with Providence communities
- Ability to manage budgets and complete projects on time
- Experience in spatial thinking within artistic practice
Awarded finalist will be selected based on the following criteria following the interviews:
- Investment in the long-term vibrancy of public space in Providence
- A clear Cultural Strategy plan
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively with multiple stakeholders
- Excitement at the prospect of engaging in the layers of bureaucracy and community need
Cultural Strategist Scope of Work
PHASE 1: FIELD STUDY (November 2, 2026-April 30, 2027)
- Observe, study and research Cathedral Square and its surrounding, becoming familiar with both the architecture and the way the City participates in its life, integrating the past 18 months of work done by the Planning Department and its subcontractors.
- Collect data on Cathedral Square, primarily as it pertains to the people who use the space. The kinds of data and forms of collection are the domain of the Cultural Strategist.
- Build relationships with the abutting neighbors of Cathedral Square – corporate, residential and clergy. Get to know what they love about it and what they wish was different.
- Attend meetings with ACT, Planning, their subcontractors, and Housing and Human Services.
- Document all points in the process, whether in writing, photography, or video.
- Report to ACT’s Deputy Director, engage in regular communication via email, phone, Asana and other appropriate task management software, attend meetings as deemed appropriate by the Planning Department, Housing and Human Services, and/or their Cathedral Square subcontractors.
- Prepare a Project Report that proposes an engagement plan for Phase 2: Activation Study.
- Submit invoices to the ACT Deputy Director via email and/or Asana within agreed-upon timetable.
PHASE 2 SCOPE OF WORK: ACTIVATION STUDY (May 1, 2027-October 31, 2027)
- Enact Phase 2 plan, eg host weekly farmer’s markets with the residents; produce a daily poetry reading; co-host a summer music series with the abutters; create a happy hour cart for the local businesses, etc.
- Prepare a Project Report that outlines specific recommendations for Cathedral Square’s redesign, specifically as it relates to future use, future public art, and related requirements taking into count both qualitative and quantitative data. This report could be delivered in writing, as a film, a website, etc. and will be used by the City as they continue to advocate for the redesigned Cathedral Square.
- Attend meetings as required by the ACT and stay in contact with all related partners.
- Document all points in the process, whether in writing, photography, or video.
- Report to ACT’s Deputy Director, engage in regular communication via email, phone, Asana and other appropriate task management software, attend meetings as deemed appropriate by the Planning Department, Housing and Human Services, and/or their Cathedral Square subcontractors.
- Submit invoices to the ACT Deputy Director via email and/or Asana within agreed-upon timetable.
- Provide a Certificate of Insurance that specifies general liability and umbrella coverage and/or worker’s compensation.
To Apply
Project Schedule
Call to artists opens
August 7, 2026
Info-Session (on Teams)
August 19, 2026
Application deadline
September 8, 2026
Semifinalist interviews
September 17-23, 2026
Finalist and alternate confirmed
September 24, 2026
Awarded Cultural Strategist contracting
End of October, 2026
Phase 1: Field Study
November 2026-April 2027
Phase 2: Activation Study
May 2027-October 2027
Final Report Due
October 31, 2027