Home to Rhode Island state militia and National Guard troops for 100 years, the historic Pawtucket Armory is being transformed into The Arts Exchange, an exciting new center for the arts and arts education. The volunteer Pawtucket Armory Association (PAA), began this process in 2000 when it persuaded the city of Pawtucket that PAA should rehabilitate the then-abandoned Armory.

The Arts Exchange truly began to take physical shape in 2003 when PAA converted a former automobile-impound garage adjacent to the Armory into the Annex Theatre, a new home for the critically-acclaimed Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre. Two years later, PAA brought the Armory structure itself back to life when it renovated the building’s “Castle” section. The upper floors of the Castle now house the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The JMW School is Rhode Island’s first and only public high school devoted to the arts to which talented students are admitted only through a strict audition process. The students' curriculum is a rigorous combination of tradional academics and intensive arts studies.

The final transformation of the majestic Pawtucket Armory into The Arts Exchange is not yet complete. The Armory’s massive Drill Hall will soon be converted into more performing arts spaces, with support and education spaces installed in the ground floor below. When finished, The Arts Exchange will be a welcoming and desirable mecca for creative and performing arts and arts education throughout the region.

We invite you to explore The Arts Exchange and discover its magic. If you want to be part of this exciting opportunity for civic engagement, we hope you will consider participating in our Capital Campaign or making a donation.