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...
Can art by Joey Visco Dogs and drafts? Is there any better way to celebrate yappy hour? If you are an animal and craft beer lover, this is an event you do not want to miss!...
Photo by Sindayiganza Photography. The FIFA World Cup tournament was full of thrills, drama, chaos, unity, and live television shots of devastated children in tears after their team lost a heartbreaking match. The final whistle brought...
Matthew Provençal as Thomas Andrews in ‘Titanic: The Broadway Musical’ at Bill Hanney's Theatre By The Sea July 23 – August 15, 2026. Photo by Mark Turek. The challenge to staging a production of “Titanic: The...
The Tattoo Awards featured a gallery wall populated by local artists. Here is a selection of the artwork on display! By Brianne Elizabeth @foxhallowart By Victori Leo Riel Grab Your Heart & Go by Allie Boyer @peaceflowercreations MONSTROELIZASUE by...
Photo by Jess Lee Images. I met Lily Spencer in an acting class taught by Eric Lutes, whom many television fans will remember from the 1990s sitcom “Caroline in the City.” Eric, who now lives in...
Rachel WS. Favorite Animal/ Favorite Floral Tara D’Agostino – Iron Lion Tattoo By the numbers, Tara D’Agostino got her first tattoo at the age of 15, picked up her own tattoo machine at the age of 19, opened...
Photo by Jillian Clark. There’s no feeling quite like finally being able to fully step into your own, to truly embrace your whole self and carry yourself through the world with that mentality. Not an identity...
Kai Nanfelt. Okee dokee folks… Last weekend I went on a ten-hour, each way, road trip to play a show. The drive wasn’t so bad, but the music was horrible. As I have mentioned before, I...
Photo by Isaac Laliberte Wards 2, 9 and 12 all report the same. Mendez wins in each! It appeared that Providence was perfectly poised to usher-in its first female mayor in history. The polls were closed and...
“You’re late, Brother,” she said, hovering outside the weathered cottage near a pebbly beach, indistinguishable from the shadows cast by moonlight that hit the thick hydrangeas. It was late in the evening of a seawind-chilled...
It’s almost Cthulhu – pardon my hiccup, I meant, “election” – season again. And if the tactics of these times don’t make your head swim and your bowls ache, as if you were being eviscerated...
When cover artist Bob Eggleton of Warwick first got interested in art and started sketching nightmarish creatures, he recalls, an aunt asked him, “What’s drawing a monster gonna get you in life?” He’s spent the last...
Skyler Shields (Kenickie) and the cast of the Theatre By The Sea (Wakefield, RI) production of “Grease” running thru July 18, 2026. Photo by Mark Turek. “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop! A-wop-bam-boom!” BY ALISON O’DONNELL ON JUNE 27, 2026 Grease is the...
Isham, Sheila. Teth (#8 Creation Series). 1972. Acrylic spray on canvas. Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI. (Image courtesy of the Newport Art Museum.) Quite some time ago, I read a quip that the art of diplomacy...
As an international student a year into Rhode Island, yet still only a breath into America, I finally found a question that I might be able to answer – this is my continued exploration of: What...
“Well, there ain’t no time to wonder why,Whoopee! we’re all gonna die.”– Country Joe McDonald and the Fish What with our ink and living below sea level, you’d think that we squid would be used to cold and darkness. We’re not. It’s looking bleak out there, and we’re frustrated and having a hard time finding […]
The doors of the bus swooshed open and the strong-eyed man behind the wheel turned his head toward me. We stood suspended in silence, the rain drops beating down the windshield casting a moving shadow across his face. After another second I climbed aboard, beating my soggy newspaper against the cold steel rail. A lightning […]
Welcome to the fourth installment of Stop, Rock, and Roll! Although February is the shortest month of the year, that didn’t stop it from being stuffed to the gills with amazing local releases. Here are five songs that deserve your attention! Foxxdye – “Change” Foxxdye have been building hype lately, even without any songs under […]
Aries: The Full Moon brings the urge to organize and rearrange your work and home space, as well as making adjustments in some relationships. This prepares you for a new season and a new you. The New Moon at the Spring Equinox plants the seeds of change within you. You’re ready for that change and […]
Erminio Pinque: the creator of extraterrestrial creature phenomenon Big Nazo, our comics editor, and nuanced pad and pencil enthusiast spoke with me about his design for this Motif’s cover. “Since it sure doesn’t seem like spring yet, but hints of it, the idea is to depict the mindset most of us are in, which is […]
Dear C: My boyfriend Stan won’t listen to me, and I need some backup. He is recovering from pneumonia after having had Omicron just a month before. He eats too much junk food to begin with, but when he was quarantined with Omicron, he couldn’t be bothered to cook and ate nothing but processed foods. […]
After traveling around the world, living in Boston and London, Bristol Maryott decided to start her business, Jala Studio Yoga & Art, here in Providence, Rhode Island. “I wasn’t sure it would work really. Whenever you open any small business it’s hard to know if it’ll be possible,” Maryott said. When visiting the studio to […]
Years in the making, this madcap indie comedy, directed by Sean Michael Beyer, was shot in RI during the pandemic. They chose RI because of the diverse locations close to each other, and the state ended up standing in for nations around the world, including Italy (Venice, of course), Germany, France, England and Frankenstein’s castle. […]
On March 20 at Fête Music Hall, we once again celebrated local with one of Motif’s favorite annual gatherings: The RI Music Awards. Although we’re the smallest state, RI has a never-ending supply of fantastic music spanning all genres. We seem to be post-COVID, at least as far as live music coming back is concerned, […]
And the winners are … See our event recap and profiles of these winners now! Joey Moreira-Typography, Favorite Skull & Overall Winner Rachel WS-Overall Cover Amie Connors-Line Work/Black Work Tara D’Agostino-Overall Black and Grey Corey Creamer-Black and Grey w/Color, Judges Pick Traditional Gabriel De Jesus-Geometric Alyssa Cavallo-Traditional Jay Blackburn-Character, Anime Rodney St. Onge-Animal Kristen Lanctot-Cover […]
