CULTUREWATCH Artists rise to the New Year’s challenge BY BRIAN C. JONES

Led by a clown and hatching their plans from the lair of big-as-life puppets, Rhode Island artists saved Providence’s New Year’s Eve celebration this year, and in the process, may have forged a new bond among themselves.

Bright Night is the name of the artist-led observance that took over when the First Night organization, citing a decline in corporate sponsorship, opted not to produce the New Year’s extravaganza for the first time in 18 years. Adam G. Gertsacov, a professional clown and Bright Night’s director, said the event sold 4500 tickets, compared to 17,000 for the last First Night program. More than 130 artists performed on 24 stages. Bright Night was able to raise $125,000 to produce the events, and finished with a small surplus

Most importantly, Gertsacov and other principals say, spirits were high throughout the day and evening, both among performers and attendees. At midnight, Gertsacov figures that 10,000 to 15,000 watched the fireworks display.

The role of artists — puppeteers, musicians, actors, mask-makers, and others — was key to Bright Night’s success, he says. "The guy who took your ticket might in the next hour step on stage," Gertsacov says, adding that some worked for lower than normal fees, just to make the events work.

It was the early role of artists that was critical, say Gertsacov and Al Gomes, artist and site coordinator. Soon after First Night announced that it probably would not produce the event, artists held a meeting to ponder the problem. There were more sessions — at the headquarters of the Big Nazo puppet and performance artists’ group behind City Hall — and plans were made to produce a smaller event, but one true to what had become a Providence tradition.

Gertsacov decided to attend one of the meet-the-mayor sessions that David N. Cicilline had inaugurated to hear from the public. With no advance warning to the mayor, Gertsacov presented the Bright Night concept. Cicilline asked assistants to follow up, and gave Bright Night $25,000 — and legitimacy.

Gomes says Dorothy Stephens, who had stepped down earlier last year as First Night executive director, gave lots of advice, and the First Night organization helped where it could, providing such things as signage and clickers to count people going into performance areas. Artists were kept up to date through an e-mail loop. And plans were developed within financial boundaries. Gomes says acts weren’t scheduled until money was in hand: a sponsor’s grant would come in, then acts would be booked.

Just days before December 31, the event had met its budget. And at the last minute, Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun casino stepped in with other sponsors to make the fireworks happen.

What next? Gertsacov and Gomes expect within the month, various parties — including First Night representatives and Bright Night "veterans" — will meet to see who wants to do what next New Year’s Eve. It could be that First Night will take the lead, Bright Night will take a second crack, or they’ll cooperate.

In any case, Gertsacov says the bond among the artists was such that he’s hoping they’ll be able to continue to produce an event themselves — be it in the summer or winter. "Rhode Island’s most important cultural asset is its artists," he says, meaning that the major ingredient of such powerhouse institutions as the Rhode Island School of Design and Trinity Repertory Company is people.

Bright Night kept the flame lit last year, making possible experiences that change people’s lives. Gertsacov heard from a couple whose first date was at Bright Night. They’ve grown closer since and wanted a festival poster to memorialize the occasion.