Prudence Island Artists in Residence Program
The PI AiR program offers artists across a variety of disciplines the opportunity to spend time and be inspired by the natural beauty of Prudence Island and Narragansett Bay and to learn about the mission and activities of the nature reserve and the history of the island.
Prudence Island is part of the traditional and ancestral lands of Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Pokanoket people past, present and future. The Narragansett name for Prudence Island is Chibachuwese or Chibachuwesset, which has been translated as “Little place separated by a passage” and “the place apart”.
The Residency is based at the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NBNERR), South Prudence Island in Portsmouth, RI. The Reserve is a state-federal partnership between NOAA and RI Department of Environmental Management, and comprises 4400 acres on Prudence Island. NBNERR is part of a national network of 30 reserves whose mission is to practice and promote coastal and estuarine stewardship through innovative research and education, using a system of protected areas.
NBNERR facilities include a visitor’s center / laboratory / office building, an education / classroom building and outdoor pavilion, and two dormitory structures that have 3-4 bedrooms, bathrooms, full kitchens, and laundry facilities. Most areas of the NBNERR campus are ADA compliant. There is no dedicated art space and artists-in-residence must bring all materials and supplies needed to generate their work. Access to the island is by ferry only. The Prudence Island ferry leaves from Thames St. in Bristol (schedules vary seasonally).
Find out more by watching this informational video and reading our program description.
Allison Bianco received her MFA in Printmaking (2010) from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI and her BA in Studio Art (2001) from Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA. She recently completed permanent public art commissions for PS958 in Brooklyn for the NYC Art in Public Places Program; and Rhode Island College, Providence, RI. Residencies include MacDowell, Peterborough, NH and Tides Institute, Eastport, ME. Her work is held in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; The New York Public Library, NY; RISD Museum, RI; Yale University Art Gallery, CT; University of San Diego, CA; and the Hawai’i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, HI; among others. She is represented by Cade Tompkins Projects, Providence, RI.
Abbie Lahmers, Artist in Residence 2026-2027
Abbie Lahmers is an established writer and communications specialist based in Providence, RI. During her five-year tenure as the managing editor of Hey Rhody Media Co. (which includes Providence Monthly, The Bay, and others), she captured compelling community stories, with a special interest in environmental justice and our local food system. Seeking ways to make more of an impact, she transitioned into a communications role with the Metcalf Institute at the University of Rhode Island last year, where she champions their mission of giving journalists the tools to report on science topics and the ongoing climate crisis. Abbie is a freelance writer for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island and communications coordinator for Roger Williams Park Conservancy. Abbie holds an MFA in fiction from Georgia College & State University, where she was an editor of literary journal Arts & Letters and a teaching fellow. She is currently working on a collection of fairy tale adaptation stories and early drafts of a novel, while also photographing the natural world for inspiration. Her most recently published story, “Bodies Without Edges” appears in Allium: A Journal of Poetry & Prose.
Aleksandra (Sasha) Azbel, Artist in Residence 2026-2027
Aleksandra (Sasha) Azbel is the founder of Sashoonya, a sustainable textile studio based in Providence, Rhode Island. She specializes in natural dyes—grown, foraged, or sourced locally—to create accessories, apparel, home goods, wall hangings, and site-specific installations that celebrate the beauty and power of our coastline.
Sasha immigrated to the United States from Kazakhstan as a child and found a deep sense of belonging in nature. That connection deepened when she moved to Rhode Island for a Master’s degree in architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she fell in love with New England’s breathtaking shoreline. Encounters with natural dye traditions around the world, alongside Rhode Island’s legacy of industrial pollution from textile production, led her to explore the art of natural dyeing as a way of reconnecting with land, place, and identity.
Sasha works with plants, seaweed, and food waste to extract dyes that color silk, wool, and cotton for both art and fashion. She grows dye plants like indigo and marigold on a local farm, forages for algae along the coast, and collects organic waste from local businesses to create textiles marked by seaweed, moons, pearls, seeds, and sunsets. Her process includes steaming, immersion dyeing, block- and tie-resist, and dye painting, resulting in a growing visual language rooted in time, place, and care. Her work reflects the beauty and joy we find in the ecosystems we inhabit—and the commitment of her practice to nurture and protect them.
Questions and inquiries can be sent to: PIArtistResidency@gmail.com
