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...
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...
If you don’t know what clickbait is, then I’d love to know if it’s comfy under that rock you live beneath, if people leave you alone to get work done, and what the rent costs. Here’s an explanation for you rock-dwelling future neighbors: Clickbait is basically a short article written by an ad-saturated website planted […]
Growing up, I was discouraged from embracing my nerdy side and letting my geek flag fly. So when Comic Con became an actual viable thing I could attend as an adult (who had recently abandoned all geeky inhibitions and embraced geekdom fully and unconditionally), I was thrilled. Four years later, it’s not only going strong, but […]
This soul- and spirit-draining election season is almost over. If you’re looking for a unique alternative to the major party offerings, consider a write-in vote for Cthulhu. The cosmic creature’s last-minute run is “proudly support[ed]” by Narragansett Beer, which says #TheStarsAreRight for H.P. Lovecraft’s mythic entity to take up residence at the White House. Meanwhile, […]
Fusionworks Dance Company is living up to their slogan “Different is Good” for their coming fall concert. The Northeast Choreographers Festival will be presented at the McVinney Auditorium in Providence on Saturday, November 5 at 8pm. Throughout its notable 28-year history on the Rhode Island arts scene, Fusionworks has always presented both the works of guest choreographers […]
With the passing of Governor Raimondo’s budget this past July, a new type of medical marijuana license has been created: Cultivators. Until now, dispensaries have relied on personal caregivers to supply 40% – 60% of the medicine sold in their stores. As of January 1, 2017, the centers won’t be allowed to purchase from […]
When asked to write this article I spent days agonizing over trying to be inclusive and explain to “muggles” (non-magic folk) the details behind cosplay and how some people may use cosplay as a form of therapy. As a self-aware individual and cosplayer, I only have my experience and the stories shared with me by […]
We talked to Christine Evangelista, who plays Ashley in the upcoming film. (You can see her in the trailer here: ) Motif: Had you heard of Vinny Paz before this film? Christine Evangelista: I’d be lying if I said I was an avid boxing watcher, but I am an Italian-American and my grandfather was real […]
Opened Tumblers at 100 Fountain Street, located next to the Dean Hotel, is a hot new spot for cocktails. Stop by for a signature fresh pressed pineapple and rum with house-made coconut crème. Opens at 6pm. Shelter Arcade Bar Kitchen at 111 Dike St. is now serving up pizza from 6:30pm to midnight. The Angry Birds […]
Rhode Island Comic Con is upon us again and thousands of excited fanatics will invade downtown Providence like a colorful misfit army of all backgrounds and backstories, much like their favorite characters. Some will even be dressed as their favorite characters — each year cosplayers dedicated to their artistic crafts bring to life heroes and […]
One of PVD’s most notorious noise bands recently got back together to melt your face off. Daughters started off in 2002 and called it quits in 2009. They briefly reunited for a couple local shows in 2013, but now they are full steam ahead with an already completed East Coast tour and a soon […]
