Documentary

TRT: 59 minutes

“In 1920, the Boston Globe called Provincetown, Massachusetts the largest art colony in the world.  In 2003, that same paper wrote, ‘where have all the artists gone?’” 

                        

 

ArtSpirit Synopsis

 

Provincetown, Massachusetts has been home to thousands of artists since arrival of Charles Hawthorne and his Cape Cod School of Art in 1899.  Easily accessible by train at that time, the spiral spit of sand flourished with master teachers and painting students, all of whom chose the Cape over a war-torn Europe.  They came in droves, wooed by the light and the bohemian spirit—diverse cultures living side-by-side and in support of one another. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But like the shifting sands on the dunes, the art, the artists and the town itself have changed dramatically through the decades. ArtSpirit, a full-length documentary feature, presents a cultural and socio-economic perspective on living the artist’s life, juxtaposing the rich history of Provincetown as the oldest continuous art colony in America, with its present-day status as a gay resort, where tourists now own over fifty-percent of the real estate for use as second homes. 

Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Photo by Deb Ondo

                            ~ Hunter O’ Hanian

Former Executive Director, FAWC

ArtSpirit

Featured Artists

Additional Interviews

Paul Bowen, sculptor

Sally Brophy, white line printmaker

John Clayton, Impressionist Plein Air painter

Jay Critchley, artist, activist                               Salvatore Del Deo, painter/teacher
John Dowd, painter

Lois Griffel, Impressionist Plein Air painter/teacher
Conny Hatch, sculptor

Norma Holt, photographer

Chet Jones, painter

Hilda Neily, Impressionist Plein Air painter

Lillian Orlowsky, ink drawings, painter/teacher
Anne Packard, painter
Cynthia Packard, painter/teacher
Jim Peters, painter/teacher

Shirl Roccapriore, painter/sculptor/filmmaker

Ilona R. Smithkin, Impressionist painter/teacher
TJ Walton, self-taught painter

Terry Catalano, Auctioneer, Outer Cape Art Auctions

Ted Malone, Developer, Affordable Housing Project
Chris McCarthy, Director, Provincetown Art Association and Museum
Hunter O'Hanian, former Executive Director, Fine Arts Work Center
David Nicoleau, Provincetown Selectman/ real estate broker

Mark Peters, affordable housing lottery winner/artist

Ron Robin, Owner, Mews Restaurant

 

Scroll down for photos from the Provincetown International Film Festival. 

 

 

 

View Trailer!

Photos from the 2007Provincetown International Film Festival

NECN’s Scott Yount interviewing us before the premiere screening.

Delivering a few remarks before a full house at the premiere screening.

Meeting Kathleen Turner at the opening night party at the Crown and Anchor.

(left to right)  Artists Sally Brophy and Jim Peters, Shirl, our moderator Rebecca Alvin, Deb, and Lauren at the filmmakers breakfast panel on Thursday morning.

Red carpet cheap Beatle’s imitation. 

Running into artist Ilona R. Smithkin on Commercial Street.  

Before the second screening.  Triumbrants with Andrew Peterson, Director of Programming. 

One more time.  A few remarks before the third screening.