This Sunday, Providence鈥檚 Wooly Fair returned for the first time since 2013. This year鈥檚 rendition, Wooly Fair 2023: Big Deal, featured , and was held at the Steel Yard in Providence. Artists Sam White and David Allyn produced the event in collaboration with the Nicholson File Art Studios.
Attendees were encouraged to 鈥溾�� and dress in fun, extravagant costumes, according to the fair鈥檚 website. Each attendee was given a random name tag and new identity as they entered the event. Abby Phillips, an event coordinator for Wooly Fair, said 鈥淲e come in, we give out name tags, we give you a new identity 鈥� So, you come in, you live your anonymous life, you let loose, you get vulnerable, you shake your butt and you have a good time.鈥�
鈥淭he idea is that anybody who walks in and enters a participatory art carnival is not just a spectator but a part of the fair,鈥� she added. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e here to be a part of it, and feel welcome and Wooly.鈥�
According to the event鈥檚 press materials, Wooly Fair originated in 2005 as a backyard talent show at the Steel Yard. Up until 2013, the fair returned every year with new installations and performances, drawing in more members of the local community.
Wooly Fair 鈥渃elebrates the human impulse to make a place from your imagination with your own hands, make it with friends and then throw a party inside it,鈥� according to its . The event serves as an outlet for artists to explore outside the sphere of their usual artwork, and for 鈥溾�� to contribute and interact with the unique installations the artists create.
Artist Michael Townsend, a Wooly Fair veteran, said the invitation to participate is always to 鈥渃ome and make whatever it is you want to make.鈥� According to Townsend, 鈥渙ver the years that has escalated in absurdity and danger.鈥�
He added that such freedom to create 鈥渁llowed myself and my art collaborators to make some truly memorable pieces.鈥� His installation this year represents a 鈥渟oft reflection on celebrating death,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e did about a thousand little tiny drawings of gravestones with coffins underneath them on boulders of tape that are on the ground. The very simple invitation in this installation is to walk through a coffin shape surrounded by an entire cemetery of very peaceful grave scenes.鈥�
According to Phillips, the event 鈥済rew beyond the capacity of鈥� founder Sam White, leading to the decade-long hiatus.鈥淗e needed to take a break 鈥� and he had to put his focus elsewhere,鈥� she explained.
But this year, Phillips said, 鈥渨e started planning well in advance and we have multiple people involved, and so we鈥檙e trying to build a better foundation for the event so that now if it grows, we鈥檙e able to sustain it.鈥�
Wooly Fair sponsors include Narragansett Brewery, the Fakhouri Fund and the , which awarded this year鈥檚 event with a Community Engagement Grant.
For Annaliese Ritterhaus Neff and Dan Neff, the return of Wooly Fair not only represented 鈥渇un times and costumes,鈥� but also a celebration of their wedding anniversary. 鈥淲e also got married at the Steel Yard, and yesterday was our anniversary, so we were like, 鈥極h, Wooly Fair on our wedding anniversary? Let鈥檚 do it,鈥欌�� Ritterhaus Neff added.
This year also marked Ritterhaus Neff鈥檚 first Wooly Fair, where she showcased her art installation 鈥渢he Kraken Wranglers.鈥� The idea for the piece, she explained, came from the ring toss game 鈥� her version, though, features huge tentacles.
Phillips highlighted a stained-glass pagoda near the entrance of the festival. 鈥淭his pagoda,鈥� she explained, 鈥渋s from 10 years ago. So we鈥檝e left our mark here. It鈥檚 nice to be back.鈥�
Tom Li is a Metro Editor covering the Health & Environment and Development & Infrastructure beats. He is from Pleasanton, California, and is concentrating in Economics and International & Public Affairs. He is an avid RIPTA passenger and enjoys taking (and criticizing) personality tests in his free time.
