When I walk up to the triple-decker home on the quaint residential street, the blinds are closed. In the space between the blinds, a pedestal is visible in the center of an otherwise empty room. Is this the right place? I assume it is either the newly opened art gallery I seek, or some kind […]
“The universe is so divine.” Savaree “Sav” Hazard-Chaney noted the synchronicity as she sat in a waiting room with a copy of Motif when I reached out to her about creating the cover art. Hazard-Chaney is many things – a fiber artist, the entrepreneur behind TuftxPVD, a wife, mom of four, a music-lover, a champion […]
In my first date night guide installment, I professed my love for date nights in the fall due to their comfy, cozy vibe, and I stand by that. For many of the same reasons, I would argue that winter is the second-best season for dates. For this article, I’ve compiled fun activities to consider for […]
When the Mixed Magic Exult Choir comes together to sing, there is a palpable magic in the air. “Some of it is technical and practical,” says artistic director Jonathon Pitts-Wiley. “Kim [the choir director] makes sure the instruments are tuned at a certain frequency, 432 Hertz, the healing frequency. There is intention in what Kim […]
We here at Motif are blushing after receiving the following Valentine’s in the mail, made out of old copies of the magazine. Check out the work below!
I disappeared for a couple of months and the world ended. Legends have left us, notably Shane MacGowan and Robert “Balcony Bob” McBride. MacGowan once tried to drive his tour bus into Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel when it was at the Peerless Building for his stage entrance. Balcony Bob worked for over 30 years to keep […]
In 1968, The Beatles released one of the most highly regarded albums in popular music, The White Album. And in 2003, Jay-Z, in stark contrast, released his magnum opus, The Black Album. We associate a blackwash with things somber and final. But Motif’s Black History Month Issue is anything but. Featuring the artwork of Jordan […]
It’s 1875, a year before Edward Mitchell Bannister becomes the first Black painter to win a nationally recognized award. He and his wife Christiana Carteaux Bannister are taking a slow stroll down Westminster St. towards the bridge crossing the Woonasquatucket River. They are coming from her salon, where she operates as a successful “hair-doctress” for […]
Last summer, a statue of a bronze man sitting alone on a bench appeared in PVD’s Market Square. Although he can’t introduce himself, his bench bears his name: Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828-1901). If you aren’t familiar with Bannister, you likely know the Providence Art Club, which he helped found. During his life, Bannister was considered […]
I enter the Pawtucket Art Collaborative‘s gallery in Lorraine Mills and look at the art filling the room. It’s still early in the evening and the show’s energy is beginning to buzz. It doesn’t take long for Islay Taylor, The Steel Yard‘s associate director, to introduce herself. Taylor is friendly, despite the air of danger […]