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...
The NecronomiCon is a biennial celebration of the works of HP Lovecraft and beyond, and throughout the genre of “weird fiction.” Centered in downtown Providence, it boasts four days of literary panels, readings from various...
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...
Tucked inside the historic Harrison Steam Complex in Providence's Olneyville neighborhood, Siren Spirits is redefining what a visit to a distillery can be. Equal parts neighborhood gathering place, cocktail destination, and craft spirits experience, this...
Music makes beer taste better? In 2016, Vrije University in Brussels, Belgium, conducted a study that showed scientific evidence that music has an impact on our taste of beer. This study concluded that lower audible...
Cold Chocolate. Okee dokee folks… Well, summer is here and for me, summer is HELL! A few years back I wrote a song about my disdain of Summer for the Empire Revue’s “Cool” show. Here are...
America, the focus of this issue, runs on wealth. So here’s how to get yourself some. It’s the perfect opportunity to launch a new column aimed at helping non-one-percenters with financial matters. Feel free to...
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“Foreigner.” I find it a harsh word that I hate seeing applied to others. Yet applied to myself, it’s the only word that half conveys how baffling I find this country at times. I’d like...
In his final year at college, cover artist William Schaff truly learned what it was like to work in a studio. “I developed a course of study in general fine arts with one of my...
Rachael Warren as Diana. Photo by Mark Turek. The Next to Normal audience is exposed to waves of raw emotions drowning your soul and dampening your eyes. You may wish you had premedicated with any of...
Blaq Sav. Photos by Lillian MK Photography. Favorite Free Verse Spoken Word 2026 Ashley Hosa Sending out a big congrats to Ashley Hosa, who came to the Spoken Awards with a multitude of wonderful supporters (shoutout to Ryan!)....
The founder of the long-standing hipster-ish West Side restaurant Julians hadn’t been involved directly with the restaurant in quite some time. But his legacy persisted. A larger-than-life personality, you never knew at what event Julian...
Renowned supporter of local music and arts Lisa Gourley (Sometimes Lisa Gourleyx) passed away on June 15. Reading reactions on social media, you can’t help but notice how often the words “nice,” “kind,” and “photography”...
This beautiful Solstice moment, June 21, 2026 brings the winds of change into our lives. The pivotal points among the planetary movers and shakers of the Zodiac find Gemini, with Uranus and Ceres, reaching across...
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...
Ale / Saison Goibniu by Trágmar Ale Works DIPA Captain’s Daughter by Grey Sail Brewing IPA Tiny Truck by Ragged Island Brewing Co. Lager Lawn Boy by Tilted Barn Brewery Lager (European Style) Small Victories by Origin Beer Project Lager (Mexican or Japanese Style) Japanese Rice Lager by Lops Brewing New England IPA Hollow Hills […]
Opened: Bistro Locale: Not brandy new, but opening a second location! This popular Attleboro restaurant has doubled in Lincoln. Goodbye Nathaniel’s Bistro, hello huevos rancheros! Husband and wife duo, Luis Cano and Rocio Hernandez, focus on creating Mexican and American dishes, without shying from combining them both; for example, a menu that features Nutella Crunch […]
PVDFest 2025 was a step toward the festival’s roots and toward a more local foundation, a vision espoused by Lizzy Araujo Haller as the first city director of the event. “We have a small team for this, working closely with City resources and FirstWorks, but there’s no way it would be possible without all the […]
Our 2025 Battle of the Bands turned out to be a battle of bands vs. nature, as rain persistently threatened each band’s performance and eventually opened up the floodgates to pour silence on the ironically named Sun of Sound. Sun of Sound was the third of four contestants. Our hearts go out to them, and […]
Do you ever have those seasons where you become hyper fixated on a specific interest for a time? I’ve been through many, whether it’s one musical artist, a new TV show and all of its accompanying lore, or a certain style of dress. A few years ago, I found myself drawn to the Afrofuturist movement […]
Power to the playwrights who can effortlessly weave together disparate themes and characters, something Ro Reddick manages deftly with Cold War Choir Practice, making its world premiere at Trinity Repertory Company. In a gritty Syracuse roller-skating rink in the waning days of the Cold War, she crafts a satirical, genre-defying look at power – Ronald […]
Naylea Hernández of Providence paints in vibrant colors like her favorite contemporary artist, Rocio Cabrera. The cover artist for Motif’s Hispanic Heritage issue, Hernández makes a point of using slime green in a number of her paintings. It’s her favorite color, she says, reminiscent of Nickelodeon’s iconic and signature substance. In her composition for the […]
Origin Beer Project of Providence took the top hops spot at Motif’s 2025 Food Truck & Drink Awards held at 195 District Park on September 14. “It feels humbling,” said co-owner and head brewer Cheyne Tessier as he held the plaque proclaiming “favorite overall brewery” for the establishment he and his wife, co-owner Erika, founded […]
On September 15th, Rhode Island—like other states across the nation—will begin a month-long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15–Oct. 15). This annual event is meant to honor the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. Yet, as the founder of Rhode Island’s first statewide Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration back in 1988, I […]
As you enter the Wilbury Theatre, you see a sign hanging that reads in Italian, “In bocca al lupo.” This is an Italian idiom translating to “into the wolf’s mouth,” which is commonly used to wish someone good luck, especially before a performance or challenging task, similar to ‘break a leg.’ A typical response might […]
