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ART! International LEGO Day with lego artist, Andy Grover at Providence Public Library
PPL to Celebrate International LEGO Day Saturday, January 27
Just in time for 2024 International LEGO Day, January 28, Providence Public Library (PPL) invites all library lovers and LEGO enthusiasts to the Library on Saturday, January 27 from 11 am – Noon for a Library LEGO Spruce-Up day with Rhode Island’s LEGO artist Andy Grover! The event will take place in PPL’s 3rd Floor Atrium Lobby (150 Empire St., Providence).
The public is invited to join in a fun meet-up with LEGO artist Andy Grover as he visits PPL to spruce up the intricate LEGO rendering he created of the historic PPL building in 2020 in celebration of the Library’s transformative renovation. Come watch while he does some “maintenance” and have a chance to talk LEGOs with the artist/expert.
Andrew Grover depicts Rhode Island buildings in LEGO. Some of his creations include Providence Public Library, Union Station, Slater Mill, the Ann & Hope Mill, and Mt. Pleasant High School. He likes to focus on public buildings such as schools and libraries and other buildings like Providence-style ‘multi-families.’
Grover’s model of PPL’s historic structure contains nearly 10,000 bricks and took six months to construct!
Space is limited. Register: https://provlib.libcal.com/event/11841288
More from Grover:
From Grover on what motivates him to “lego” public buildings:
My first love is modeling public buildings such as libraries and public school buildings. These are the most important structures that we have, and we should celebrate them with art!
Rhode Island’s old public schools are remarkably beautiful, but unlike many of the state’s other architectural gems like the Newport mansions, they were not built for or by the important and wealthy. They were built and used by the people of the state.
Too often, these buildings are neglected until they are in such poor shape that it is cheaper to raze and rebuild than to preserve them. This is sadly common for public schools, whereas, in private education, it is rare. In the world of private education, children are educated in beautiful, historic buildings. Public schools were once built this way, so why cannot this be a universal privilege?
This project evidences to the people of Rhode Island that their public edifices are beautiful to the point of artistic depiction and are a piece of the state’s unique, historic identity. The desired outcome is to increase Rhode Islanders’ appreciation of their historic school buildings and other buildings that serve as shared cultural landmarks. As a result of this outcome, appreciation for these sites will be translated into public investment and a return to their prominence in the public eye.
RI PBS did a story on Grover’s work: