URI to host exhibition by internationally renowned artist Anne Mimi Sammis

Narragansett-based painter and sculptor also to receive honorary degree

Anne Mimi Sammis
Anne Mimi Sammis

KINGSTON, R.I., April 10, 2018 — An exhibition by internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor Anne Mimi Sammis will run from Friday, April 20, through Friday, May 18, at the University of Rhode Island’s Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons, 15 Lippitt Road, Kingston campus.

The exhibition, Expressions of Peace, Love & Joy, leads up to the University’s 132nd Commencement on May 20, at which Sammis will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree. The exhibition will include nearly a dozen pieces. 

Sammis is one of Rhode Island’s most recognized artists, and her celebrated sculpture in Narragansett, Dance of Peace, is considered a local landmark. “The nomination of Ms. Sammis for an honorary degree was greeted with enthusiasm, particularly from the student members of the selection committee,” said Donald H. DeHayes, URI Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “URI students are aware of her sculpture in Narragansett and are pleased with the recognition of her artistry and her peaceful vision.”

In 2002, Sammis was commissioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury to create a sculpture in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee. That sculpture, He Has the Whole World in His Hands, is on permanent display in Lambeth Palace, London. Her exhibition of 30 bronze sculptures, One Thousand Years of Peace, was shown at the United Nations in 1999, and later at The Hague, Netherlands.

Sammis believes that art depicting love and joy has a positive effect on its viewers, and through her work, she strives to inspire peace in the world. In 2005, she began working with PBS on her first series, “Painting with Mimi,” which featured painting techniques and insight into the creative process while encouraging viewers to enhance their lives through art.

At her coastal Rhode Island home, Sammis holds weekly gatherings, where attendees share their art, encourage each other, and discuss topics related to art, spirituality, creativity, and inner peace.

The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Office of the Provost.