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...
In its 10th consecutive year, the Providence Children’s Film Festival, February 15-24, offers 27 different feature films and short film packages at a number of venues throughout the city, including the Avon Cinema, the Gilder Center for the Arts, the Metcalf Auditorium, the Woodman Center at Moses Brown, the Providence Athenæum and the RISD Auditorium, […]
This wall display at Twenty Stories in Hope Artiste Village beckons bibliophiles to belly up to a different than perhaps their usual type of bar. The Poetry Bar’s headphones offer browsers the opportunity to listen to some of the poems that are tucked into the collections for sale in the store. Alexa Trembly, who co-owns […]
Aries: Explosive action rocks your world. You’re caught between the traditional and the radical, and it is getting difficult for you to keep your balance. Change can be disruptive and confusing, but it can also lead you down a new path. Listen to the more staid and traditional as well as to your radical self. A […]
Last Christmas, a police operation shut down the Foxy Lady on prostitution charges, but it was only a short decade ago that sex work was effectively decriminalized in RI. In a confluence of events that truly was peak Rhode Island, sometime in the early 2000s, a federal judge discovered a legal loophole going back to […]
The New England Leather Alliance Fetish Fair Fleamarket once again takes over the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, February 15 – 17, and we expect you to be there. Don’t disobey us. This safe and welcoming event presents an annual opportunity to explore something new, connect with like-minded individuals or take your kink to the next […]
Gigi Does New York Phillipe and Jorge will be presumptuous enough to assume that most of you missed the feature cum profile of our own head honcho, Gigi Raimondo, in the January 27 edition of The New York Times in its excellent “Sunday Review” section. It was by columnist Frank Bruni, who owns the coveted page three space […]
Dear C & Dr. B, When my daughter turned 15 and started high school there was an immediate and total change in her and in the dynamic of her relationship with us, her parents. She went from being our daughter, who liked to run things by us, ask our opinions and spend time with us, to being […]
Beer is a many-splendored and (responsibly) intoxicating thing, but navigating the beer business is a sobering experience. The beer/wine/distilled spirits industry is controlled by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which was established in 2003 when it was separated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The TTB issues permits to […]
It is said that true love has no borders. In the case of Hadley Eames and Simon Wilson, that truth is lived far beyond the prescribed boundaries of dry land and restrictions of political geography. Aboard their 38 ft. steel yacht Oumâ, the only confines these oceangoing circumnavigators know are the limitations of their imagination […]
It was 1 degree Fahrenheit the night my friend and I scuttled alongside the Providence River toward the mall with our heads down and scarves up, trying to protect ourselves from the cold. But something caught my eye: a neon sign where Quay used to be. “The River Social” it said in simple block lettering, […]
