By Olivia Lunger By Lillian MK Photography ...
Favorite Color Tattoo Evan Olin, Powerline Tattoo Runner-up: Luis Bold, Unicorn Ink Favorite Black & Gray Ryan Dowden, Dark Ritual Runner-up: Luis Bold, Unicorn Ink Favorite Black & Gray with Color Steven McDonough, Secret Safe Tattoo Runner-up: Rachel WS, Rachel WS Fine Art...
By Lillian MK Photography By Olivia Lunger ...
Photo by Lillian MK Photography. Favorite Free Verse Spoken Word Ashley HosaRunner-up: Jeff Daniellian Favorite Social Justice Spoken Word Erik AndradeRunner-up: Mx Asher Favorite Youth Poet Angel CruzRunner-up: (by one vote) Josselyn Wolf Favorite Poetry Event Apothica's Monthly Poetry NightRunner-up: Afroverse Favorite...
Congratulations, you survived the record-breaking Blizzard of 2026. With the anticipated arrival of clear skies and warm temps, how will you be spending your well-earned, much-needed downtime this summer? If you’re adventurous, you could explore some of...
Artwork by Bob Eggleton. Godzilla has been a cinematic icon for over 70 years. However, there are important themes around the monster that have gotten lost with international audiences. There is no gigantic monster that has had...
Tie-dye by Spun Laundry. BEACHES Atlantic Beach Park: Family beach, amusements, kiddy rides, snack bars, antique 1915 carousel, batting cages, bumper boats, go-carts, mini golf, game room, waterslides, gift shop, beachware and an ocean-view cocktail lounge. 321...
Photos by Lillian Karboski. Every time you listen to a song, there is always something more than the words or catchy melody. On Friday, May 1, right in the heart of downtown Providence, an extraordinary group...
Okee dokee folks… Rising costs of everything is what’s on my mind this month. It really should be on everyone’s mind. The main things I will talk about here are gasoline and concert tickets. One...
Photo: Christopher Mongeau. Ravi Shavi, a band that has been around since 2011 and started as a moniker for Rafay Rashid’s music project, has evolved and become more rooted in its creative approach and performance, as...
“Can I go to X?” is the question 2 Feet 2 Bucks has answered with “Yes” dozens of times, where X = place worth going out of your way to, to take a walk, short...
Artist of the Year: Favorite Song: Favorite Music Video: NOVA ONE; "chlorine" by NOVA ONE; "chlorine" - NOVA ONE (Dir. Frankie Ferrari) nova one: “nova won!” Providence’s own nova one won (!!) four 2026 Motif Music Awards: “artist...
Photo by Matthew Murphy. The North American tour of Disney’s The Lion King last played the Providence Performing Arts Center in 2017. After nearly ten years, The Lion King is back astounding Providence for a limited...
“Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). This is the core theme behind William Shakespeare's darkest comedy, Measure for Measure, one of Shakespeare’s most exciting, underperformed and underappreciated plays, currently presented by Burbage...
Smithfield, RI: A town known for its forests, trails, ponds, and well, wealth. An unlikely location for a potential AI-Data Center, one may think. Yet, this rural community, despite data center construction being illegal under...
This is the story of visiting Providence’s newest Rotisserie and Bistro, Thermia, and being so intrigued by its menu and feeling so welcomed by the staff, that I went twice in one week! To give...
Check out extensive listings for every show we could find this season. But some are bigger or just fundamentally represent summer in our eclectic, hyperactive, tiny-yet-overachieving state. Here’s a selection of special events to keep...
“Industry wants us to believe the sky will fall if there’s reform," said Council President Rachel Miller. "But for working families, the sky is already falling..." Council President Rachel Miller (Ward 13) “In front of you is...
The eggplant piece featured on the cover of Motif is the first completed work in Chenlu Hou’s Garden series, making it a perfect fit for this issue’s theme of Summer. A low-fire terracotta sculpture, airbrushed and...
[See prior update: motifri.com/iran-war-update-01] The Iran war cannot continue as it is for much longer, and this is a result of simple math. Time is running out for energy and food supply US Consumer Price Index for All...
Voting is now closed -- Join us to see who was selected Wednesday, May 276 – 10pmMyrtle, East Providence Join us for the 4th annual Motif Spoken Awards! We are excited to be returning to Myrtle to celebrate RI’s spoken word...
Ann Morrison and Marcus Phillips in the National Tour of KIMBERLY AKIMBO. Photo by Joan Marcus KIMBERLY AKIMBO is a musical with a lot of heart, a lot of wit, and a lot of rave reviews...
Processed with VSCO with 6 preset When Steve DelMonico (vocals/guitar) approached John Faraone (drums) with an impossibly unique band name, there was no way of knowing that 10 years later they’d be sitting at Nolan’s with...
Photo: Dave Rezendes. John Faraone: a man of many bands, many instruments, and one poetic voice. While John wouldn’t call himself a poet, I certainly believe that his lyrics are simply stanzas waiting to be printed....
Photo by James Brooks. Okee dokee folks… I have referenced the Jethro Tull song, “Too Old to Rock & Roll, Too Young to Die,” A few times in my 22 years of writing for Motif, and...
(Photo credit: Keith J.G. McCurdy, from the cover art of Vudu Sister’s Adynata; photograph of the art installation LO SGUARDO - Humanitas - Physis by sculptor Igor Mitoraj at the Neopolis Archaeological Park of Siracusa...
Mount Pleasant. Elmhurst. The Valley Arts District. These are all neighborhoods whose offerings I thought I knew well, having worked in and around Providence over the last few years. But you can certainly miss a...
Buddy Mott. Once upon a time, if you wanted a tattoo, one of the things you could do was traipse to Newport from any of the four corners of the world and get yourself a tattoo...
The actual declaration of Independence was first proclaimed to the people of Newport from this building in July 1776. (Photo by Maureen O'Gorman) It doesn't take long for a person new to Rhode Island to find...
The RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced a major initiative to repair potholes caused by a harsh winter. A new Pothole Service Requests Dashboard site on the web – https://www.dot.ri.gov/travel/potholes.php – allows the public to...
Gazing at trees as they change color is a mainstay of New England sightseeing for residents and visitors. Few of us need to go far from home to enjoy the season. It’s impossible to list all the places with trees you can visit by bus, so Two Feet Two Bucks has selected some destinations where […]
Halloween was a war against the dark, the dead, and the deities. In Celtic Ireland, where the tradition began, many people were druidic. They focused their worship on the spirits and gods of the natural world that they believed held their fate. In a world where their entire religion was based on nature and appeasing […]
Painters: Francisco Goya, Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mark Rothko, Edvard Munch. Musicians: Ludwig van Beethoven, Chris Cornell, Ian Curtis, Chester Charles Bennington, Kurt Cobain. Writers: Edgar Allen Poe, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Hunter S. Thompson, David Foster Wallace, Anthony Bourdain, Sylvia Plath. All are artists who suffered emotional disorders, neurosis and breakdowns, and, in […]
Is there any more iconic imagery associated with October and Halloween than the classic witch sailing through the skies atop a broom, beneath a bright full moon? Despite its tragic past and condemnation from puritanical pilgrims of the past, we are fascinated by witchery. For this piece, I sought a well-versed soul on the topic […]
1. HER WEB It looks like a wheel of diamonds you said. My eyes moved to the corner of the porch where you had noticed the spider, bigger than any I’d ever seen, finishing a hoop of her web. A barn spider, an orb weaver, you said. Harmless to us, despite the look of her, […]
The following is a sequel to the author’s piece, Bruja, from the last issue. I first bonded with my mysterious neighbor, Flor, over our communal care for local stray cats. The decrepit garage we kept them in became a shared point of contact and a sacred space where we would cross paths at feeding times […]
OPEN A new, family-owned restaurant, Cielito Mexican Kitchen, opened last month. A friend and I (Motif assistant editor Mara Hagen) accidentally stumbled upon this little corner spot late one night, hungry, and looking for something other than Fellinis. We discovered Cielito at 186 Union St, PVD. We easily devoured their delicious guacamole and a quesadilla, […]
There are not many who can claim to have fought for and saved lives in both medicine and the arts. Dr. Joseph A. Chazan was a rare individual, whose dedication in both the fields of art and medical science left an indelible mark on the lives he touched and the communities he nurtured. After his […]
Whether observing All Hallows’ Day, Yom Kippur, or el Día de Muertos, we have many cultural traditions associated with honoring the recently departed. Ants too, meticulously care for each other and safeguard against infection within their nests, cleaning each other and removing the dead to prevent contagion. The evolution of social immunity and its ties […]
Founded as a beacon of “hope,” Providence Plantations provided refuge from religious persecution, establishing a colony where settlers could worship freely, independent from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Today, Providence remains a city where history and the supernatural intertwine, from the gravesite of famed horror writer HP Lovecraft to ghostly sightings at centuries-old institutions. Whether you’re […]
