The new age of digital media has transformed the political world, changing not only how candidates are communicating with voters, but how political messaging is shaped. Politics have evolved alongside society, moving away from direct messaging and imagery and fitting into social media posts, campaign events and emotionally driven language that can shift public perception. […]
On August 12, Motif cohosted a forum on the Arts in Providence featuring Democratic Primary Mayoral candidates Brett Smiley and David Morales. In Providence, the real election typically happens in the primary. The winner will go on to face David Tenet (R) and Allen Waters (I) in the general election, but Providence is a determinedly […]
Every election cycle, Motif brings you the candidates in their own words so you can try to compare apples to apples. It’s our way of contributing to the political process while not having the fact-checking capabilities of larger papers (well, that larger papers used to have, at least). and we’ve received a lot of positive […]
August 12, 6:30 – 8:30 PM Southside Cultural Center – 393 Broad Street, Providence What do the candidates for Mayor of Providence have in mind for the future of arts engagement in the “Creative Capital”? Find out straight from the Democratic Primary candidates Brett Smiley and David Morales, at Motif’s first political forum, where local […]
Rich Laliberte (Motif): Can you tell our readers about your journey, from youth and how it brought you to this moment in local politics? Yulyana Torres: I was born here in Providence to two Dominican immigrant parents who are also educators in the Providence Public School system. I was very fortunate to grow up around […]
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2026, those of us old enough to remember the 200th anniversary in 1976 tend to be fondly nostalgic for the “Bicentennial” in what seemed a less troubled time, when patriotism could be unironic. That’s somewhat of a false memory: the Vietnam war, the Arab Oil embargo, […]
Every Venezuelan has lived this moment. An American asks, “Where are you from?”You answer, “Venezuela.”They reply, confidently: “Minnesota?” I don’t know if it’s the rhythm of the word, the way we roll the Z, or just the fact that people hear what they’re already familiar with. But it happens every time. Venezuela becomes Minnesota. A […]
Political violence is a bad thing from any perspective, but there is a long tradition of it. In the classic 1970 collection of over one hundred primary source documents American Violence, the earliest account is Pilgrims versus Puritans from 1634 and the most recent, two years before the book was published, are the Chicago Riots […]
The United States Air Force announced that the latest addition to their arsenal, the B-614 stealth bomber, nicknamed the “Ninja,” will make its first public appearance in a flyover on Saturday, Jun 14, at the Washington DC military parade that coincides with the birthday of President Donald J. Trump. “The Ninja is the next generation […]
Persistence is a means of resistance for this queer arts collaborative By John Picinich Recently, Binch Press x Queer Archive Work (BinchxQAW) found itself thrown into the front lines of the White House’s renewed culture wars. The collaborative nonprofit was notified that its $15,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts had been withdrawn. […]