We’re Doubling Down on the Fourth Installment of Our Annual Mural Project at the PVD National Bank Facade

Artists AGONZA and M.deangelo will create new works on the front and rear of this historic structure, starting July 22

Artists M.deangelo and AGONZA

This is the fourth year of our rotating annual mural project at the Providence National Bank facade in Downtown Providence. Each year since 2016 we have commissioned a different artist to create a new work on the front of this historic structure, and typically they have added a extra little surprise on the rear of it. This year we decided to double down and commission two artists to create two separate pieces, one each on the front and rear. We can’t wait to show you what they’ve come up with.

From July 22 through the end of the month, Connecticut artist M.deangelo (née Michael DeAngelo) and Providence-based artist AGONZA (née Angela Gonzalez) will paint the front and rear murals, respectively. They were chosen from an open call for proposals earlier this year. The resulting works will be on display for one year.

A sketch of the “strong, urban woman” to be featured in AGONZA’s mural

AGONZA is a Providence native who spent her teenage years in the Dominican Republic before graduating from the University of Rhode Island in 2015. She has displayed work at shows in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and won 2017 and 2018 People’s Choice Awards at the Salem Mural Slam. Her proposed mural for the rear of the façade will use its five individual panels to depict four seemingly identical women, each with an earring representing the flag of a different country and each wearing “a different ethnic hair style to embrace the ethnicity of each type of hair,” she says.

The center panel will combine the female symbol with a raised fist. AGONZA, who says her art is based on feminism, socialism and issues within urban communities, intends the piece to be a tribute to the “strong, urban female” in a state with 32,447 more women than men.

"Bathtub," an existing work by MJ DeAngelo

“Bathtub,” an existing work by M.deangelo

M.deangelo is a Connecticut-based fine artist and illustrator who has contributed work to juried shows at The New Haven Paint and Clay Club and Pequot Gallery. He was integral as both an artist and facilitator to New Haven’s Under 91 Project, the first mural allowed on Connecticut Department of Transportation property. In contrast to AGONZA, M.deangelo’s proposal for the front of the structure will treat the five separate panels as one unified canvas depicting a woman lying down against the backdrop of a nighttime landscape with a building at the far end. He refers to it a “cyclical composition” that will connect three separate images of the same moment: the woman deep in thought, the reality of where she is (inside the building), and the unknown world beyond represented by the moon in the sky.

This project is done in partnership with Paolino Properties, which owns the building. The public is encouraged to stop by between July 22-31 to see the artists in action.

“We are excited to once again breathe new life into this historic part of the Providence landscape through art,” says our 2D Program Manager Nick Platzer. “Over the past few years this revolving mural project has helped to activate the streetscape around an otherwise inactive structure. By bringing new works to both sides, AGONZA and M.deangelo will bring rich new details to the visual tapestry of our city center.”