Hey Rhody: Gather RI Slated to Open in Providence This Year
A new community space on the West End plans to repair connections through stories and art.
A rendering of Gather RI at 189 Broadway by Thea Ernest
By Emily Olson
During the pandemic, Amanda Strauss noticed silos among women and among gender-expansive people – the faces you’d see at the gym, at church, during your routine coffee run on the way to the office disappeared. Although gathering spots opened again, habits had changed. “There aren’t many spaces for community,” she says. “The loose ties that bound us together before the pandemic frayed. We need a physical space – a haven – where we can connect and feel safe, find respite and rejuvenation. A place where we can also find inspiration to move forward in our lives.”
