Guide to the Dirt Palace ephemera, 2011-2018


John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2024

Collection Overview

Title: Dirt Palace ephemera
Date range: 2011-2018
Creator: Murphy, Mary O.
Extent: 0.25 linear feet
(1 half file box and 1 oversize folder)
Abstract: This collection consists of the ephemera of Dirt Palace a feminist artist-run non-profit arts space and artist collective located in Providence, Rhode Island. The collection includes articles, zines, posters, pamphlets, and newsletters related to the activities of Dirt Palace's space and affiliated artists. The collection spans from 2011 to 2018.
Repository: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number: MS.2024.002

Scope & content

This collection consists of the ephemera of Dirt Palace a feminist artist-run non-profit arts space and artist collective located in Providence, Rhode Island. The collection includes articles, zines, posters, pamphlets, and newsletters related to the activities of Dirt Palace's space and affiliated artists. The collection spans from 2011 to 2018 and is arranged into 1 series.

Series 1, contains articles, newsletters, pamphlets, posters, and zines. Of particular interest are zines created by artists affiliated with Dirt Palace. This series is arranged by record type.

Access Points

Subject Organizations Subject Topics

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into 1 series alphabetically by record type.

Biographical/Historical Note

The Dirt Palace is a feminist artist-run non-profit arts space and artist collective founded in 2000. It began as a self organized collective focused on supporting feminist artists by providing affordable studio space, facilities, shared resources, opportunities, a culture of cooperation, and by maintaining visibility in the community through a committed public arts presence and long term relationships. The space is located in a repurposed library building in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island and includes living spaces, a wood shop, a print shop, practice spaces, studio spaces and a zine library. The Dirt Palace's gallery space, known as The Storefront Window gallery, features work by residents and guest artists. Founding members who are still involved with Dirt Palace include Xander Marro and Pippi Zornoza. Other artists who have participated in residencies at Dirt Palace include J.R. Uretsky, Mickey Zacchilli, and Jungil Hong.

The collective has been identified as part of the new wave of radical feminist art spaces in A People's Art History of the United States, and as a part of the riot grrrl zine movement in Modern Women:Women Artists at the Modern Museum of Art. The Dirt Palace is a recipient of a seed grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. In 2010, Dirt Palace was featured in the Museum of Modern Art's book, Modern Women: Women Artists at the Museum of Modern Art. The collective was also featured in the 2014 exhibit by Creative Time and Independent Curators International, Living as Form (Nomadic version) at Harvard University's Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. In 2018, the Dirt Palace purchased the Kendrick-PrenticeTirocchi House, known as the Wedding Cake House at 514 Broadway, Providence, RI 02909. The Wedding Cake House was renovated and adapted to serve as an artist residency space and bed and breakfast to further support Dirt Palace's mission of providing opportunities to artists. In 2020, Dirt Palace in Partnership with Providence College Galleries and the support of the Andy Warhol Foundation created The Interlace Grant Fund.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: There are no restrictions on access for analog materials, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested. Advance notice is required to view any audiovisual media or born-digital records that may exist in this collection. Audiovisual media and born-digital records in this collection may not have been reformatted yet. Researchers may request access to copies by contacting the John Hay Library with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. Access to original physical audiovisual or born-digital media is restricted.
Use of the materials: All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the John Hay Library are requested to complete a Notice of Intent to Publish, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation: Dirt Palace ephemera, MS.2024.002, Box [#], Folder [#], Pembroke Center Archives, John Hay Library, Brown University
Contact information: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: Gift of Mary O. Murphy beginning in 2024.
Processing information: This collection was part of the Pembroke Center's Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive until 2024 when collections were recataloged. All collections previously grouped under that title are now searchable under the subject headings "Women and Gender at Brown University" or "Feminist Activism in Rhode Island."
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Erin Perfect, on behalf of the Pembroke Center for the Teaching and Research on Women and the Brown University Library.
Encoding: This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-09-25.
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor: Curatorial work provided by Mary Murphy, on behalf of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women and the Brown University Library.

Additional Information

Inventory

Folder [31236104064392] Oversize Catch-All Box 4XXX Article: re: history of the Dirt Palace by Jessica Hopper for RVCA/ANP Quarterly [oversize]
 n.d.
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 1 Article: "Arts group purchase of Wedding Cake House expected to get OK," Providence Journal
 February 17, 2017
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 2 Newsletter: email printouts, 2016, January and December
 January 2016, December 2016
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 3 Newsletter: email printouts, 2017, January, June, December
 January 2017, June 2017, December 2017
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 4 Newsletter: email printouts, 2018, December
 December 2018
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 5 Pamphlet: "About the Dirt Palace"
 2016 - 2017
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 6 Poster: "Holiday Bazaar"
 2016
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 7 Zine: "Feminist Stories 1 +2," by the Feminist Reading Group
 2014
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 8 Zine: "Herland" by Xander Marro re: Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland
 n.d.
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 9 Zine: "Little Pink Birds" by Xander Marro
 n.d.
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 10 Zine: "Tiny Bango 1of 3" by Olivia Horuath
 2012
Box [31236104064376] 1, Folder 11 Zine: "Wild Child 1-4" by Kristina Brown
 circa 2011-2014