The easiest way to see shows is definitely to get on one of the tours or shuttles. BUT, for many folks and for a variety of reasons, this may not be an option. It can be a bit of a challenge to navigate an unfamiliar city, so try to find several others to share in the navigation and/or costs. I would suggest that folks wanting to venture out to see shows off-tour meet at the NCECA booth to connect….hourly departures seem to make sense,so

come by the NCECA booth at about ten minutes till the hour, make some new friends and see the sights together!

But there’s more. To help you out, I have gone to the trouble of putting a lot of the exhibition addresses into Google Maps. The “improved” google maps only allows for 10 locations…not an upgrade from the old version which allowed 25 in my opinion. So I had to group some things into single locations, for instance there are a TON of galleries at RISD. I only put in a map location for Sol Koffler, but from there you can walk to the rest. You can also edit the map and remove locations and add different ones, and you can change the mode of transportation from car to bus, and google will identify bus stops and service times. This map is only meant to be a starting point and time-saver, but I hope it is helpful for you.

Additionally, our local onsite liaison, Larry Bush wrote a long email to me about navigating the bus. I’m pasting it here in its entirety because he’s such a funny guy and the injection of his humor is great. This is written in question and answer format, so Larry’s words are in RED and the questions are in blue. Enjoy!

I did a test run from here to a place north of Boston by public transport to compare the ease with roughly the same distance number of changes etc as a run I do in Japan – Japan is way easier for the novice even if your not totally on top of the language.
But as you say once you get our quirks down and get use to the un-American way of running on someone else’s schedule, it works pretty well.

1. Where does one catch the R bus towards Pawtuckett.

All buses (pretty much) go through Kennedy plaza – about two blocks from the convention center. If you want to walk a couple more blocks over to Main and catch the Melchert project on the way and/or Val’s at the Art Club, a half a block up the hill past Main before you hopped on the R at N Main and NS (north side) N Court St. Or you can get on the #1 which goes through the bus tunnel, which you will see tunneling under college hill directly in front of you if your walking toward Main from Melchert’s project down by the river.

2. Where does one buy a one day pass – from a Kiosk, at the bus stop or on the bus. Do you pay for it with cash (change or bills) or credit cards.

All RIPTA e-fare products are available for purchase at the RIPTA Ticket Window in Kennedy Plaza.  The RIPTA Ticket Windows are located at the Kennedy Plaza Passenger Terminal.

  • RIPTA Ticket Windows, Mon – Fri: 7 am – 6 pm Sat: 9 am – 12 pm & 1 pm – 5 pm Sun/Holidays:closed
    Issued on bus or trolley only(?).
  • 1-DAY PASS–$6 for 24 hrs. of unlimited bus/trolley rides. Before paying, tell driver you want a 1-Day Pass. To use, swipe in swipe slot.
  • You can now buy an electronic 1-Day Pass on board. And, if you don’t have exact change, you can obtain an e-change card on board.
  • CHANGE CARD–Issued by farebox with $18.50 maximum balance good toward future fares. Not redeemable for cash.you can buy online but it takes 3-5 days for delivery and they charge you another $4 to deliver it so the cost is $10Cash fare for one ride on buses & trolleys – $2.00

– – I can see why this is confusing – all this is from the RIPTA site – – ’cause I cheat, my faculty card works as a bus pass so I don’t have to think about it.I believe you can buy the one day pass at the ticket office since it is an “e-fare product”. if you buy it there I think you can use any method you want. I think along time ago I bought a month pass for my daughter there with a credit card.But when you buy it on the bus, you can “only” use cash. (Rhodys can be a little awkward with syntax, I’m pretty sure they put the “only” in the wrong place) And its a good idea to have exact change so you don’t get stuck with an “e-change card” that you can “only” use on more rides. I think if I was you and for some reason wanted to go to the ticket office I’d have my $6 and “only” six dollars in my hand as I tried to buy a ticket with a credit card. Then I could beat it to the bus if it didn’t work but I would be sure to ask for the pass before I relinquished my $6. – – – the short answer is: I don’t know.

3. Approximately how often do they run.

Timing depends on time of day – mid-day the R runs every 15mins, during rush hour a little more often, and after rush hour its about every 20. It stops at about 1pm.The #1 is slightly less frequent – fastest is about 15, slowest at night is 30 till it stops at 11:30

4. In going towards Pawtuckett – at what stops can the galleries be found – and what are the directions from the stop.

Line And Form CANDITA CLAYTON GALLERY, 999 Main st, unit105,Pawtucket, RI,

R to Main NS Belmont, walk up the street a half block, gallery is in Hope Artiste village – a big repurposed mill on left

Untamed Objects, MACHINES WITH MAGNETS – 400 Main St, Pawtucket, ri 02860

R – going north, get off at Collyer Park(ask driver if you can get off closer at Pine FS Main, closer) walk main and ne about 3 blocks

Binary MILL GALLERY/ PAWTUCKET ARTS COLLABORATIVE, 560 Mineral Spring Avenue, Pawtucket, RI,

R – going north, get off at Collyer Park, 0.8mile to the left down Mineral Spring av, on the left across from Lorraine Mill (0.4 mile walk from #72 but then miss Clayton gallery, and no other on #72 line)

Rhode Island K-12 Ceramics Exhibition MADDOG – 65 Blackstone Ave, Pawtucket, RI,

– behind Armory, google says from front of Armory up hill, left on Fountain and left on Blackstone, (but I think you can walk around the armory the other way – maybe, shorter)