Providence Artists Win Pawtucket Gateway Design Competition

Nick Hollibaugh and Joshua Enck with a model of their sculpture proposal.


A model of Canter and Shed is on display now at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center in Pawtucket. (Photo: The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer)

The City of Pawtucket (Rhode Island) and the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Historic Heritage Corridor are pleased to announce that the team of Nick Hollibaugh and Joshua Enck is the winner of the Pawtucket Gateway Design Competition. Their design for a new sculpture to be located in front of the Visitor Center on the corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Pawtucket was selected by a panel of jurors from three finalists in the competition. The artists created a sculpture they named “Canter and Shed”, a pair of painted metal structures designed to recall smokestacks, buttresses, and rooftop landscapes, inspired by the buildings of Pawtucket.

The Competition was sponsored by the City of Pawtucket and the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Historic Heritage Corridor Commission. The focus of the competition was to create an innovative design inspired by the Blackstone River, Blackstone Valley, Industrial Revolution and the Pawtucket Arts and Entertainment District that responds to the unique diversity of the city’s architecture and urban landscape. The budget for the sculpture is $50,000 which will be raised from private donors.

The City of Pawtucket has become well known for the Annual Pawtucket Arts Festival and its commitment to the visual and performing arts. At the heart of the arts movement is the Visitor Center where the sculpture will be located. The Visitor Center houses two art galleries, a theater company, a movie theater and is host to numerous art and public events throughout the year. The Visitor Center serves the City of Pawtucket, the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Historic Heritage Corridor, the Slater Mill Historic Site (birthplace of the Industrial Revolution), and it is an official Tourism Center for the State of RI.

The panel of jurors that selected the finalists and the competition winner includes James Barnes, Prof. of Architecture, RISD; Howard Ben Tré, Sculptor; Roseann Evans, Professor of Architecture, Roger Williams University; Luke Mandle , Architect, Two Ton; Martha Werenfels, Architect, of Durkee, Brown, Viveiros, Werenfels, Architects.