Check out: the Visual Resources Association Annual Conference in Providence, RI on Storify!

Walking directions from the Providence Biltmore: http://goo.gl/maps/Ku3Kn

LIBRARY OPEN HOUSE:
Fleet Library at Rhode Island School of Design. 15 Westminster St. http://library.risd.edu/

Founded in 1878, the RISD Library is one of the oldest independent art college libraries in the country. In the summer of 2006, the Library moved into a new facility in the first two floors of the former Rhode Island Hospital Trust bank. The magnificent banking hall serves as the library’s main reading room, while the second floor accommodates a new reading room for Archives and Special Collections as well as expanded space for the Visual Resources, Materials, and Picture Collections. The Fleet Library was recently called America’s Most Beautiful College Library, http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-college-libraries, and One of 50 Most Amazing Libraries in the World, http://www.pbn.com/RISDs-Fleet-Library-named-one-of-50-most-amazing-in-world,85705.
View the Fleet Library brochure: http://library.risd.edu/pdfs/fleetlibraryrisd.pdf
Watch the Fleet Library video: http://bcove.me/av1gioc9

—> Simply present your conference badge to visit the library on your own.

LIBRARY GUIDED TOURS:

Fleet Library as Adaptive Reuse. Director of Library Services Carol Terry will tour the library and detail the history of the building from its origin as a bank to an acclaimed case of adaptive reuse as RISD’s library. Each tour limited to 15 people, meet at 15 Westminster St. SIGN-UP REQUIRED.

• Wednesday, April 3, 9:00-10:00am
• Thursday, April 4, 8:00-9:00am

Fleet Library Special Collections. Special Collections Librarian Laurie Whitehill Chong will present samples from the noteworthy Artists’ Book Collection of 1400 multiples, hand-made book objects, and limited edition books. Tour limited to 20 people, meet at 15 Westminster St. SIGN-UP REQUIRED.

• Wednesday, April 3, 10:00-11:00am

—> Sign up for these library guided tours: http://www.doodle.com/64bt8zma58bps5f8.

All guided tours are free of charge. Unless specified, tours do not require registration and will gather in the lobby of the Providence Biltmore. Tour times reflect a maximum duration and include walking to/from the beginning and end of the tour from the hotel.

Guided Walking Tours

• Wednesday, April 3, 7:30-9:00am. Downtown Providence led by Dietrich Neumann.
  This walking tour will present a few of the most significant buildings and public sculptures at the heart of Providence from the 18th to the 21st Century. We will discuss the Providence Renaissance with its creation of Waterplace Park and the re-opening of the rivers and see splendid examples of historic preservation and rehabilitation.
• Thursday, April 4, 7:30-9:00am. Brown University campus led by Dietrich Neumann.
  This tour will visit the campus and a number of individual buildings of one of America’s oldest colleges, dating from the 18th to the 21st Century, including works by McKim Mead and White, Philip Johnson and Diller & Scofidio. We will also see one of Richard Upjohn’s late Gothic Revival Churches, St.Stevens of 1862. Please note: this tour will involve scaling and descending the considerable elevation of College Hill.
• Friday, April 5, 12:00-1:30pm. Rhode Island School of Design campus led by Andrew Martinez.
  This tour highlights the 135-year history of RISD as it relates to the historic and significant buildings on the RISD campus.

Self-guided Walking Tours

• Independence Trail, http://www.independencetrails.com/
• Providence Preservation Society booklets of Downtown Providence and Benefit Street, $3 each, sold at the conference registration desk. http://www.ppsri.org/ppsresources/walking-tour-booklets

About our tour guides:

Dietrich Neumann is Professor of History of Art and Architecture at Brown University and is a former president of the Society of Architectural Historians and one of the principals on the SAHARA grant.

Andrew Martinez is Archivist at the Rhode Island School of Design and is co-editor of “Infinite Radius: Founding Rhode Island School of Design.”

Dear VRA Colleagues,
Greetings with a periodic advertisement for the 2013 conference, VRA 31,
just over a month from now in Providence, RI.

Today’s focus is time!

#1. A reminder that early bird (discounted) registration for the conference
ends in two days, on February 28.
http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra31/registration/

#2. Hotel rates are guaranteed only through Sunday, March 3.  According
to the report I received this morning, there are still a variety of rooms
available each night of the conference, but for some options, there is
limited availability.  Don’t wait!
http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra31/accommodations/

#3. This is a wonderful hotel in a vibrant location.  Block out some time to
wander both the Providence Biltmore and Providence itself!  SCHED can help:
http://vra2013annualconference.sched.org/

#4.  Making the most of April 3-6 – Yes! there is wireless in guest rooms
and in meeting rooms.  There is a large Starbucks accessible from the
lobby.   Our meeting rooms are arrayed on the 2nd and 17th floors, with
convenient elevator access between them.

#5.  The conference website has loads of information well presented
http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra31/news/ — but if you have additional
questions, feel free to contact me, cdabel@unm.edu

See you in Providence!
Cindy

Dear VRA colleagues,

A friendly reminder that the VRA 31 Conference “Early Bird” registration period ends on Thursday, February 28, less than two weeks from today.  If you haven’t already registered, please take a moment now to click here and take advantage of the savings.

A big THANKS to everyone who has already registered!

In an effort to go “green”, a bound printed conference program will not be included in the documents you’ll receive at registration upon arrival, although a pdf version of the full program will be available for review and printing closer to the conference’s start.  Therefore, here are some helpful links/tips to using the web-based conference schedule via SCHED:

The conference schedule contains icons for details on mobile apps, printing, social media options, etc., in the upper right corner.  You might want to set a reminder to print out your personalized schedule just prior to departing for Providence.

If not connecting via Facebook, create a free SCHED account here:  http://vra2013annualconference.sched.org/signup#.USPun_LJZ9U

Click here for advice on the use of mobile devices to access conference information:  http://vra2013annualconference.sched.org/mobile-site#.USPmS_LJZ9U

Check out others who will be attending: http://vra2013annualconference.sched.org/directory/

Anyone with questions about the conference schedule should contact me directly stevenk.vra@gmail.com

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Providence!

Dear colleagues,

The third in a series of announcements about VRA 31 ….

In less than two months, the Visual Resources Association 31st Annual Conference begins in Providence.  If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to view the full schedule.  Included here are some selected highlights among many:

• The VRAF Legacy Lecture’s opening speaker James Elkins is sure to provide a provocative and stimulating presentation, Wednesday, April 3.
• Don’t miss out on networking opportunities provided by the Birds of a Feather Lunches throughout the conference, and the New Members and First Time Attendees Breakfast, Thursday, April 4.
• Honor our associates at the Members & Awards Dinner, Thursday, April 4.
• Take advantage of discount shopping at the Tansey @ risd|works fundraising event, Friday April 5.
• Informative workshops (two of which are free) throughout the conference.
• Sessions and case studies covering topics such as accessibility, archives, asset management, cataloging, data visualization, digitizing, digital humanities, facilities, new technologies, outreach, visual literacy, and more.
• The closing speaker Alex MacLean will discuss his fascinating career as an aerial photographer, Saturday, April 6.

So please don’t put off registering any longer.

Rhode Island was at the heart of trade routes for the colonies (nearby locations with names such as India Point speak to this role and to the awful truth of being heavily involved in the slave trade) and was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, known primarily for textiles and silver. Like many formerly industrial strongholds, Providence has redefined itself as a center for education and medicine. With flagship institutions that include Brown University (most liberal among the Ivy League), Rhode Island School of Design (long-ranked the #1 art and design school), and Johnson & Wales University (preeminent culinary school that offered the first degree in the culinary arts), and with a low cost of living for New England and a location ideally situated close to Boston and not far from New York City, Providence is home to many artists, performers, musicians, etc.—truly a Creative Capital for critical thinking and making.

With one of the most centrally located hotels for a VRA conference, all of your destinations will be within a very short walk, starting with Starbucks located off the hotel lobby. Restaurants of dizzying variety, jazz clubs, galleries, pubs (English *and* Irish), Little Italy on nearby Federal Hill, etc., are all nearby for you to enjoy. And should you have any questions (or momentarily lose sight of the Biltmore’s iconic neon sign), Rhode Islanders are friendly to visitors, partly born of pride in this smallest state with the longest name and its fierce tradition of independence and dissent, but also because Rhode Islanders love to talk.

Future messages on VRA-L will expand on these aspects of Providence as a host city for VRA*31, in addition to highlighting the impressive conference programming that awaits attendees. I’m pleased to call your attention to VRA’s first use of a blog platform as the conference website, http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra31/, allowing for greater fluidity and variety of content. Look to the blog as your primary resource for travel planning and other logistics, with links to the conference program and registration.

Other city-related websites of interest:

• The official website of the city: http://www.providenceri.com/
• The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau: http://www.goprovidence.com/
• Flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goprovidence/
• Official tourism video: http://youtu.be/HbVD_yb9mWE
• Providence Biltmore: http://www.providencebiltmore.com/

Hope to see you in April for a conference that promises to be “wicked good”.

Let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of help…
info@vraweb.org