The subjects interviewed for Underground Rhode Island were selected, among many possibilities, for several reasons. The eldest were likely to have been part or the "hip" scene around jazz and the Celebrity Club of the 1950s. More than a few had a connection with AS220 and its circle, at some time in the past. And the youngest members have been active in the Rhode Island arts scene, in one way or another, during the last twenty years or so. Not all are either "lost" or "unknown"; some of them have long been prominent. And yet they represent a self-consciously offbeat take on the mainstream culture of Middle America. They are "underground" even when "overground," part of a world more recognizable to Allen Ginsberg (or Bruce Springsteen) than the people in the White House or Wall Street. And they were intriguing to the students who chose to interview them.
You may expect to find a photo--not necessarily from the recent past--a short biography, a recording of the subject's own voice, a verbatim transcript of the interview, and links to related materials. Not all these are present for each interview--some are still being gathered (or recovered)--but they definitely represent a sense of a life and creative work within that life.
Umberto "Bert" Crenca was born in North Providence in 1950, and is best known as the founder of AS220. Before creating and becoming the Artistic Director of AS220, Bert briefly studied at Rhode Island College and worked at Fleet Bank. In 1985, he and two friends established AS220, a local forum and home for the arts that is unjuried and uncensored. Besides running AS220, Bert creates his own visual art, experiments in music, and works with incarcerated youth at the Rhode Island Training School. He continues to serve as the Artistic Director at AS220.
© 2005