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...
The national tour of SOME LIKE IT HOT is coming to the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) in less than two weeks! Performances start on Tuesday, April 22 and continue through Sunday, April 27, 2025. SOME LIKE IT HOT is based on the 1959 film starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The original […]
Chem De La Wilson (Sativa Dominant Hybrid) Grower: Mammoth Purchased from: Mother Earth Wellness Genetics: Wilson × Chem De La Chem Method: Live Rosin Concentrate: Dabbed using PuffCo Peak Pro. Flower: Vaporized using Storz & Bickel MIGHTY+ Smell: Like an explosion in a 3-Michelin-star kitchen. Fermented melon, sour lemon-lime, frozen bananas, and a hint of… […]
Jeff Church was born to play Hamlet. As lead in a retelling of the Shakesperean tragedy at Gamm Theatre, Church is physically and emotionally nimble, leaping and swashbuckling about the three-tiered stage to deliver iconic lines – “To be or not to be,” “To thine own self be true,” “To die, to sleep, perchance to […]
The Arctic Playhouse presents “Picnic” by William Inge and directed by Karen Besson. In 1953, when the play premiered on Broadway, Picnic won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. Picnic explores themes of love, family, sexuality, repression, rites of passage, disappointment, and the complexities of human […]
The Community Players proudly present Merrily We Roll Along. The production follows three friends— Frank, Charley, and Mary— in reverse chronology, from the 1970s to the 1950s. In 1976, Franklin Shepard is a wealthy Hollywood producer, and as the story moves backwards in time the audience learns of his meteoric rise from penniless dreamer to […]
*Rule Number One is that you gotta have fun. But when you’re done, you gotta be the first torun.” “Rule Number two, just don’t get attached to somebody you could lose.” “Two to a bunker each, and don’t forget your registered wristband!” Emerald could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she followed her […]
On April 10, Jon Stenning will begin a monumental five-day, 515-mile journey from North Scituate, Rhode Island to Washington, DC, in support of two causes that are close to his heart: the Transgender Law Center and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). What started as a joke about wanting to flip off the Capitol Building […]
FAT HAM by James Ijames, directed by Don Mays, is a funny, poignant play that deftly transposes Hamlet to a family barbecue in the American South to grapple with questions of identity, kinship, responsibility, and honesty. Wilbury Theatre presents this 2022 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama in a candid, hilarious and thought-provoking tragedy that presents more as […]
Through the Glass Theatre Ensemble presents Sarah Ruhl’s surrealist comedy Dead Man’s Cell Phone at AS220’s Black Box. Ruhl is known for her probing humor, vivid imagination and poignant humanity. Director Olivia M. Sahlin artfully takes on challenging topics in a world of ordinary people living extraordinary lives, and small coincidences opening into quirky metaphysical […]
Burbage Theatre Co presents The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on the novel by Mark Haddon, and adapted by Simon Stephens. Its title refers to a short story that features a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Director Karen Carpenter delivers a production that is as funny as it is moving. Meet Christopher, a […]
