JOIN US for GLOAMING on August 8th at 6PM Haskell Public Gardens in New Bedford, MA.
GLOAMING is a Sculptural work inspired by and of the land created by Eva Goodman to be worn/performed by Willa Van Nostrand on opening night. Lasting elements remain on site throughout the exhibition.
AMBROSIA/SALAD curated by Site Specific Happenings
An evening of site-responsive installations, performance, and participatory activations transforming Allen C. Haskell Gardens.
Opening Night!
Saturday, August 8, 2026
5:00–8:00 PM
Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens
787 Shawmut Ave, New Bedford, MA
Site Specific Happenings presents the opening night of ambrosia/salad, a site-responsive exhibition of installation, sculpture, performance, and participatory works unfolding throughout the landscape of Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens.
Join us for an evening of performances and activations that invite guests to wander through the gardens and encounter works engaging sound, movement, food, sculpture, and collective participation. Artists respond to the garden as an active collaborator, creating experiences that explore connection, play, ecology, and gathering.
Opening night activations include:
- Ananda Cordero (CDMX)— Banana Split
- Elizabeth Flood (IL) — Bug Tag / How to Build a Meadow
- Michael Medeiros (MA) — Dead Bird Dinner Pt I: Wild Claymaking
- Mikah Simone Akerib (PA) — I’m The Love Of Your Life / Honey
- Willa Van Nostrand + Eva Goodman (RI) — Gloaming
- Neal Todten (LA) — One Helluva Derv
The exhibition also features site-specific installations throughout the gardens by: Adrian Almquist (MA), Carl Simmons (MA), Ena Kantardžić (MA), Isabel Mattia (RI), Jason Fiering (MA), Jillian McEvoy (MA), Rachel Rushing (MA), Renée Greenlee (VT), Saskia Globig (CT), Siri Burt (NY).
Guests are invited to dress in their ambrosia/salad best — interpret freely: a fountain of youth, nostalgic dessert, honey-colored suit, or anything inspired by abundance, nature, and celebration.
RSVP required. Suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds. Your support directly helps make ambrosia/salad possible, contributing to the many elements that bring this experimental, site-responsive project to life.
The exhibition remains on view August 8–September 19, 2026.
[06/04/26] OF THE ESSENCE: A solo exhibition of artist Willa Van Nostrand
On view in the Gallery at the WaterFire Arts Center
475 Valley Street, Providence, RI 02908
Exhibition Dates: Thursday, June 4 – Sunday, June 21, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 4, 6:00–9:00 p.m.
RIFT Elixir Experience: Tuesday, June 9, 5:00 p.m.
MUSCLE MEMORY Live Performance: Thursday, June 11, 7:00 p.m.
Gallery Night Providence | Film Screening: Thursday, June 18, 8:00 p.m
Waterfire Arts Center is pleased to present Of the Essence, a solo exhibition by Willa Van Nostrand. Bringing together a collection of energetic watercolors, large-scale colorfield paintings, ceramic vessels, video, songwriting, and an archival installation of honey, Van Nostrand traces the threshold where memory, embodiment, and material presence coalesce.
Of the Essence is a distillation of Van Nostrand’s multidisciplinary language. Her paintings move with rhythmic intensity, reading as gestural traces that run through her broader practice. Across canvas, writing, ceramics, sound, and botanical material, each medium functions within a shared sensory vocabulary where paint, voice, movement, and taste blur together.
At the center of the exhibition is a collection of watercolors titled Flavorites that chronicle her unique painting style. Divine Feminine vessels and handmade masks appear throughout the exhibition as forms that nod to the ceramic tradition through a gender-expansive lens. The works pull together references to twentieth-century cultural icons and the formal structure of ancient sculpture. The works draw from Van Nostrand’s research at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and from her residencies at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and Stamperia Del Notaio in Sicily. The gallery is further activated through an album of never-before-released songs, documenting two decades of Van Nostrand’s poetry and music.
Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Thursday until 9:00 p.m. Admission is free and open to all!
EVENTS & RELATED PROGRAMMING
You’re Invited: Artist Reception
Thursday, June 4, 2026 | 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Join us for a special artist reception celebrating Of the Essence. This informal gathering offers an opportunity to experience the exhibition, connect with fellow supporters, and learn more about the works on view.
RIFT Elixir Experience
Tuesday, June 9 | starting at 5:00 p.m.
Join the opening experience of Yuval Gur’s RIFT to enjoy live music while tasting a special Beverage / Elixir Performance designed by Willa Van Nostrand.
MUSCLE MEMORY Live Performance
Thursday, June 11 | starting at 7:00 PM
Share in a live performance rooted in voice, body percussion, and site-responsive movement. Van Nostrand’s new performance piece extends her exhibition’s logic into real time, where repetition, breath, and physical rhythm become structuring materials.
Gallery Night Providence | Film Screening
Thursday, June 18, 2026 | 8:00 p.m.
Jump on a trolley from the WaterFire Arts Center, explore multiple local partner galleries, and then return back to the WFAC to check out Of the Essence and witness a special screening of Van Nostrand’s film creations. Check back for more information about how to secure your spot on the trolley.
Willa Van Nostrand 