From the Community: a Providence Leader in Cultural Toruism, Raymond Two Hawks Watson
Raymond Two Hawks Watson (center) at PVDfest performing with Eastern Medicine Singers in 2019 photo by Jeny Hernandez-Watson
Raymond Two Hawks Watson is the Founder and CEO of Providence Cultural Equity Initiative (PCEI), and the recipient of a Rhode Island Innovation Fellowship from the Rhode Island Foundation in 2016.
PCEI is a nonprofit that promotes, cultivates and advocates for the Cultural Sector and Economy of Rhode Island. They support and value uncompromising commitment to cultural authenticity, equity and sustainability by promoting and presenting products, services and engagement opportunities with Rhode Island’s Cultural Sector and Economy.
The initiative overlaps with many values relevant to The Providence Foundation’s vision of activated public spaces, and embodies the vitality of equitable and engaged place making.
TPF anticipates an exciting programmatic partnership with PCEI as they develop strategies to engage and educate both residents and tourists to downtown Providence.
You're working on quite a few compelling projects right now–what are you most excited about?
The Providence Cultural Equity Initiative is currently developing a mixed reality, quest based cultural tourism experience entitled "Meshanticut: The Tale of Masswascutt." MTTM invites visitors to journey through Maswascutt, what we know as Providence, a world where the Algonquian Tribal Nations won the King Philip's War and the Tribal Chiefs continue to reign supreme over the lands. Visitors will travel to locations throughout greater Providence to engage these spaces through a lens based in local indigenous culture and traditions tied specifically to each location--a strategy that PCEI refers to as "cultural placemaking." MTTM is a very exciting project, and PCEI is looking forward to sharing more about it in the near future.
What opportunities do you see in cultural tourism for downtown Providence?
There are several historic cultural narratives tied to the Moshassuck River and its surrounding lands that make downtown Providence an ideal destination for cultural tourists. From land battles between the Narragansett and Pokanoket, to ships delivering slaves from West Africa and the West Indies, to the meeting space that planned the attack on the Gaspee which ignited the American Revolution; downtown Providence has a unique story to tell. If the proper investment and support is made to develop these resources, Providence has a tremendous opportunity to engage the international cultural tourism market. If we tell our stories, the visitors will come.
How could these opportunities benefit downtown?
Cultural tourism presents a great opportunity because it does not compete with other sectors of tourism such as hospitality, gastronomy, or recreation. Rather, cultural tourism attracts a supplementary audience that not only engages these other sectors of tourism, but stays longer and spends more money during their visits. As Providence explores options for economic recovery from COVID-19, incorporating the City's cultural resources is an effective and ideal strategy to promote the City's tourism sector.
How can people stay up to date on these projects?
PCEI has a great promotional arm called Living Culture RI. You can follow LCRI on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to speed with all of PCEI's initiatives, as well as other cultural happenings throughout the Rhode Island community. LCRI is a fantastic platform for cultural enthusiasts to stay connected with what is happening culturally in Rhode Island.
Anything else we should know about you, PCEI or cultural tourism?
On Monday October 19, 2020 at 2pm, in collaboration with Providence Arts, Culture + Tourism, PCEI is hosting a virtual planning studio to ideate opportunities to effectuate public awareness, tourism, and advocacy in development of the City of Providence's Cultural Plan. The virtual planning studio will be a great opportunity to learn more about the cultural tourism sector and how Providence can benefit from it, and is part of an ongoing series of virtual planning sessions that Providence Arts, Culture + Tourism has been hosting in partnership with local sector alchemists such as PCEI.
