AS220 was founded in 1985 by Umberto Crenca, alongside Susan Clausen and Scott Seabolt as a space for artists and performers to exhibit their work in an uncensored and unjuried venue. Umberto and a group of artists had been frustrated by conditions in the Rhode Island arts community which made access and success difficult for those outside the Rhode Island School of Design and initiatives backed by local government. In response, they wrote a manifesto and formed AS220 with an emphasis on openness and access.