A reimagined production of the international, award-winning musical The Bodyguard will arrive at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), October 23 – 25, 2026, as part of the Theatre’s 2026/2027 *Encore Series. Based on the 1992...
By Lillian MK Photo. RI Battle of the Bands had a smooth run this year, every performance dodging the monsoons that have plagued past iterations. The year started out with 16 highly accomplished, but not necessarily...
Okee dokee folks… I mentioned this in my column a few months ago and now it is coming close to being (IS) a major issue. GASOLINE. Before the mango moron started his war of distraction...
We all know that women were the first to make beer, right? It was discovered by accident when grains were used to make other foods digestible. Dried grain was stored and used to make bread....
Haunted Attractions 1. Factory of Terror Terror experience for all ages, including a variety of imaginative themes and thorough design. 120 Pearl Street, Fall River, MA 774-415-0153 factoryofterror.com 2. Scary Acres Fall festivities with the main attraction - a three-part terror experience...
Cover artist Nilton Cárdenas of Cranston refuses to stand still. “I am constantly moving, and creating art,” he says in an interview at Sharks Peruvian Cuisine on Broad Street in Central Falls. And when he’s not...
Photos by the author. Magda León is more than a multidisciplinary artist; she is an immigrant woman who uses art to explore her identity, her roots, and her connection to community. When I asked her how...
Photo by Scott Lapham. For the Rhode Island artist, educator and muralist, creativity has become a way to open doors, strengthen community and help others discover possibilities within themselves. For Nilton Cárdenas, giving back does not begin...
Every Hispanic Heritage Month, we are given an opportunity to look back.We celebrate the pioneers who came before us, the traditions they preserved, the institutions they built, and the sacrifices they made so generations that...
Photo by Dave Cantelli. Ever rummaged through your spouse’s sweater drawer expecting to find argyles, yet instead stumbling across a secret fetish so utterly demented that it immediately sent you bolting toward a new life? Deftly...
Rachael Warren as Clare. Photo by Mark Turek. If there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, The Getaway Driver at Trinity Repertory Company is it. The world premiere of the two-person play...
Photo by Jesse Dufault. Hark, spectators of the realm! If thy soul doth hunger for a "reverent irreverence" turning a 77-seat black box into a roaring arena of wretched romance, get thee to the Burbage Theatre...
RI Music Hall of Fame plaque honoring Rudy Cheeks/The Fabulous Motels/The Young Adults. (Photo: Michael Bilow) Much has already been written on the passing Sep 18 at age 76 of Bruce McCrae, who used the stage name...
Crook Point Brewing Company, 65 Massasoit Ave., East Providence; photo credit: Sean Carlson Over the past year, The Grind has gleamed as one of Rhode Island’s coffee gems. Set up at Crook Point Brewing Company (65...
Natasha Hodgson in the Broadway Company of Operation Mincemeat. Photo by Matt Crockett. The Tony Award® and Olivier Award®-winning musical launches the North American leg of its world tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center September...
Hunter Brown, Allie Seibold, and Seth Eliser in You've Still Got a Friend, playing at Bill Hanney's Theatre By The Sea from August 20 - September 13, 2026. Photo by Michael Derr Okee dokee folks… Tonight, at Theatre By The...
Photo by Steve Ahlquist. The unionized workers of the Community Libraries of Providence have been without a contract for two years now. Their patience, which had been wearing thin, was stretched to the breaking point by...
Photo: L-R: Pénélope Rose, Manya Glassman, Emeline Easton, and K. Elisa Garcia. by Mike Ryan. The Rhode Island International Film Festival, also known as Flickers, took place August 4 through August 9, bringing filmmakers, actors, industry...
I think museums and the culture around them have historically gotten a bad rap. When you think of museums, you might associate them with classism, inaccessibility, and wealthy donors and patrons. There’s also the issue...
As the leaves change to amber hues, so do fall beers. Our local brewers are excited about the opportunity to offer these loved styles of craft beer. If you are looking forward to cozy sweaters...
Illustration by Sadie Levine. 1. Adams Farm (pumpkins, hay rides, corn mazes) Plus: Variety fall farm stand 158 Burnt Swamp Road, Cumberland 401-714-4425 2. Appleland Orchard (apples) Plus: Cider, wine, and donuts 135 Smith Avenue, Greenville 401-949-3690 3. Barden Family Orchard (apples, pumpkins) Plus: Farmers...
Okee dokee folks… I just realized that I have been attending concerts for 50 years now. In that span of time I have seen countless shows. I honestly have no idea how many I have...
Moon Leone didn’t set out to make your run-of-the-mill pop songs. They build whole worlds, embodying different characters and using visuals to tell stories that ultimately help people heal from trauma. Performing as YourFriendM00n, they...
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...
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...
Environmental Organizations Endorse Foulkes for Governor PROVIDENCE — The Providence Streets Coalition, a grassroots activist organization devoted to increasing funding, safety, and reliability in the state’s transit network, announced July 21 that it is backing former...
For the cover of Motif’s Fall Guide, painter and muralist Nicholas “Niko” Tolentino of Cranston drew inspiration from his childhood days, he relates in an interview at White Electric Coffee Co-Op in Providence. Roger Williams Park...
Centerville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket hosted its first live music event in August. It started big with the Island Roads Fest, featuring popular reggae/ rock bands including Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, Iration, Action Bronson, DENM, Bumpin...
Stepping into a tattoo convention without a tattoo or an array of piercings can be intimidating, like stepping into a gallery show without reading the title first. Aside from a pair of basic ear studs,...
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...
Two eastbound lanes have been repurposed to carry westbound traffic across the Providence River over the Washington Bridge on I-195 in time for the Friday morning commute, the RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced in a statement at 2:45am. The westbound side of the bridge had to be closed on an emergency basis due to […]
Assemblage is art made by assembling disparate elements, often everyday objects. Collage describes both the technique and the resulting work of art in which pieces of paper, photographs, and other ephemera are arranged and adhered to a surface. Automatism refers to creating art without conscious thought, accessing material from the unconscious mind as part of […]
Wikipedia just released its annual list of most visited pages. Number 1 was “ChatGPT.” The term AI is being thrown around with the reckless abandon a two-year-old deploys on their favorite new toy or stuffed bunny. As a freelance writer, I was recently given the assignment to add “AI” to a prospective start-up’s business plan. […]
I first heard about data annotation while scrolling TikTok. A woman wearing a fuzzy beige cardigan appeared on my screen with a clanging Stanley cup in hand to tell me about how she has been on a quest to make $100 each day, before and after her 9 to 5. Naturally, my ears perked. There’s […]
Like a haymaker’s punch, the COVID pandemic completely rocked the restaurant industry, benefiting many – but leaving many others to either shut down entirely or scramble to restructure their business models. In RI, we saw The Grange, Nick’s on Westminster, and El Rancho Grande close in the pandemic. The owners of JP Spoonem’s took the […]
A man sits at a desk with his feet up, surrounded by computer programming and philosophy books. He looks out the window at the bare branches of a tree behind a sheet of winter blue sky. In his reverie, he is haunted by a question that he can’t seem to answer: In the age of […]
I have a small house, but that hasn’t stopped me from having an Alexa in almost every room. Alexa, Amazon’s “cloud-based voice service available on more than 100 million devices from Amazon and third-party device manufacturers.” It has become my buddy since I was given an Amazon Echo Tap as a Christmas present back in […]
In November, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank released a report showing that a record number of Rhode Islanders are seeking food assistance, with communities of color and families with children at the greatest risk of hunger. The 2023 Status Report on Hunger has four major findings: • A record number of Rhode Islanders need […]
Since October 7, I have been glued to my phone watching video after video depicting the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Doctors are operating with sewing needles and without anesthetic, babies are dying because there is no electricity to run incubators. Journalists covering Gaza have been targeted and killed, and civilians are being bombed with white […]
BillBuddy, an online tool available through UpriseRI, is designed to help you understand RI state legislation. You tell the app what issues you’re interested in, and it provides bill summaries of any legislation that seems like it would affect those areas you care about. The tool is expected to be available in January. Once you […]
