Mayor Baldelli-Hunt Announces May 22nd Unveiling of “You Are Beautiful” Art Installation in Market Square as Part of National Project

WOONSOCKET, R.I.: Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt announced today that the City of
Woonsocket is inviting all community members to an unveiling of a new public art
installation called You Are Beautiful to be placed on the Thundermist Falls Dam fence
facing Market Square. This free event will be held on May 22nd at 6:00 p.m. during that
evening’s Classic Car Cruise. The short program will feature local officials and Sonia
Lindsey, our State’s You Are Beautiful ambassador.

The piece is part of a series of nationwide installations, one in each state, by a Chicago-
based art group that aims to spread a positive message with three simple words:
You Are Beautiful. Sonia Lindsey applied on behalf of Woonsocket, and the City was
selected as the host city to receive the installation for the State of Rhode Island. The
installation was subsequently reviewed and approved by Mayor Baldelli-Hunt who along
with Sonia Lindsey also chose the Market Square site as the most prominent location to
have a positive impact for anyone visiting downtown.

Mayor Baldelli-Hunt stated, “This art installation will convey the uplifting message to
just be yourself and keep a positive mindset as you go through life. Sometimes life can
be difficult and negative thoughts can be consuming, but this installation will serve as a
daily reminder that you can bring positive energy to everyone in your family and
community.”

The Mayor then expressed her appreciation to Sonia Lindsey for her work in
Woonsocket’s selection as the host community for the State of Rhode Island’s You Are
Beautiful installation, “Through Sonia’s efforts, everyone living in, or traveling through, our City will see this simple reminder to feel good about themselves. It will be a focal
point in our City, and our State, for positivity.”

Sonia Lindsey stated, “With so much negativity around, I am happy to help bring to
Woonsocket, and Rhode Island, this powerful, positive message that helps give purpose
to life, and stimulates kindness and compassion in our community.”

The You are Beautiful project was started as a sticker campaign in 2002 by Chicago-
based artist, Matthew Hoffman, with the goal of helping people feel better every day
through the transmission of a simple idea that everyone deserves to feel good about
who they are. What started out as a local campaign with 100 stickers has evolved to one
that has reached every corner of the globe, with over 8 million stickers shared. Please
see more about this project at you-are-beautiful.com.