The Steel Yard

When I arrived I saw the yard filled with remnants of art works, industrial goodies and junk. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel messy. It felt very cozy. The canopy of steel beasm, chains, pulleys and wires felt comforting. I polked around for a few minutes until I ran into Nidal Fakhouri. There was another gentleman there taking photos with his new lens he had constructed out of parts from two lenses and a piece of light tight cloth. I looked through it later. it worked well. he wandered around the yard while I talked to Nidal, occasionally adding his thoughts to the conversation. I didn’t expect to feel so welcomed here, but I did.

Nidal described the space for me as we walked around the work space. It was messy. Lots of old machines. He told me about the prep area, where they build things for the community, Public projects like garbage cans, tree guards, bike racks. He called them the bread and butter. The following is a list of notes I recorded during our conversation.


Perpetually in a state of transition. Remediation of the ground, holding things back.

Leftovers from the steel mill, which was bought in 2002.

Monohasset Mill was bought first. 5 people bought the building collectively. Studio for working artists, next to the steel yard.

Providence Steel Inc. was still functional at the time of purchase.

owners of monahasset and firehouse 13 bought the property and machinery of PSI when they went out of business.

season runs from april to January.

informal at first. I get the impression that the steel yard was more of a place to hang out, work and even party. This attitude is still present,

grounds are toxic, mercury, lead. epa grant approved to remediate the grounds. all the water will drain into the ground. city is difficult to work with. they can’t seem to get the going on the ground work. they can’t make improvements to the building until the ground is dealt with. large scale renovation is ideal.

“the potential that this place has is unparalleled to most art communities”

came out of the wake of fort thunder. look up fort thunder. it was in eagle square. pinnacle of reclaimed space. art community. don’t quote him on this.

fort thunder was shut down. eagle square was renovated. kids kicked out. grocery store…gentrification.

artist community was reclaiming old buildings. when they became more legitimate, something happened

nidal walked in off the street and asked for residency. they welcomed him and gave him a key. things have grown from rough beginnings. there is a curriculum now.

there needs to be a sense that anybody in the community can get that (

“if you’re here, you’re most likely doing.”

“weekday nights, it is a madhouse here when classes are in session.” all in the same space. everybody working together. ceramics, glass or mold making, welding or blacksmithing, jewelry.

steel yard purchased the whole lot. they have plans for more studios and a restaurant. “it will be like a little community within these grounds right here.” he seemed confident about moves like this, because their community of patrons and supporters has been so well established. “it’s absolutely, completely un-risky.”

“there’s always crap kicking around here,” referring to machines and tools and materials that seem to float around.

“we do the fundraiser in the summer. huge party.”

iron pour on Halloween. people from the iron guild in maine comes down and pour iron and blow up wood molds. pyro party.

“providence has a network of communities.” these smaller groups, mostly artists, are the core patrons of the steel yard.

howie sneider, the man with the camera and push broom mustache, chimed in from across the yard, “demographic is mostly 25 to 35. but as young as 12 and in to their seventies.”


Howie talked to me about the public projects, the garbage cans and bike racks. Turning an everyday object into a sort of artwork. The simple act of putting thought and craft into the design of a garbage can might draw attention and encourage people to use it. I think the same could be said about bike racks. Hand crafted, thoughtful bike racks built by people in the community, to increase awareness of other modes of transportation. It’s a nice idea. Create symbols and signs that support the things you support. If you believe in riding a bike and throwing your garbage away, draw attention, make art.