Artscape

The New Bedford Whaling Museum’s scrimshaw collection, which includes hundreds of whalebone clocks, pie crimpers, musical instruments, canes and umbrellas, is advertised as the largest of its kind in the world.  Naomi Slipp, the museum’s chief curator, said these items weren’t considered fine art when the museum’s founders began collecting them from locals in 1903, […] The post Not your...

This week’s episode of Artscape features an interview and studio session with Providence-based “hot jazz” band Paper Moon. Morning Edition host Luis Hernandez talked with guitarists John Birt and Dylan Harley, who describe the band’s music as a kind of time travel back to the sounds of early jazz and artists like Django Reinhardt. The post Studio Session: Providence hot jazz collective Paper Moon...

With a background in literature and classical music, Providence musician Olivia Dolphin writes piano driven pop songs about relationships and self-reflection. The Providence singer-songwriter’s latest single, “Ghost Story,” is a cautionary tale about heartbreak and the perils of modern dating. The post Studio Session: Olivia Dolphin’s piano-driven ‘witch-pop’ appeared first on TPR: The Public&#039...

Where does an agnostic find hope in the face of the injustice of the world? And what happens when that agnostic starts hearing the voice of god in the rain? These are just a few of the themes of the radio play “God Talks to an Agnostic.” Written and directed by Don Mays the play explores the complicated role of the Black church in the life of a person struggling with their spirituality. The third...

The recently-retired URI professor was honored this week with the Rhode Island Pell Award for excellence in the arts. Artscape producer James Baumgartner visited Dilworth in his studio in Providence for this profile. Bob Dilworth has been drawing and painting since he was a child growing up in Lawrenceville, Virginia in the 1950s and 60s. The art teacher at a local HBCU encouraged Dilworth to appl...

The Newport Historical Society’s latest exhibit is called “A Name, A Voice, A Life: The Black Newporters of the 17th-19th Centuries." Morning Edition host Luis Hernandez talked with Rebecca Bertrand, the museum’s executive director and Kaela Bleho, the digital access manager of the museum and co-curator for this exhibit. The post ‘A Name, a Voice, a Life’: New exhibit centers the history and exper...

Providence musician J. Mamana has a new album coming out this summer called “For Every Set of Eyes.” It draws on influences that range from Neil Young to Mahler and Schumann. Mamana lost two of his closest friends in recent years, and through making the album, he found a way to process his grief. The post Studio Session: J. Mamana looks inward with hope and grief on ‘For Every Set of Eyes’ a...

The cold, austere exterior of the Greek temple-like building is a contrast to the warm, sunny interior of this private library that dates back to 1836. For this week’s Artscape, Morning Edition host Luis Hernandez gets a tour of the Athenaeum’s rare collections of art, books and a few oddities. The post ‘Cabinet of curiosities’: A tour of the rare books, art and oddities at the Providence Athenaeu...

A Pawtucket-based company has built a device that makes it easy for anyone to make stop-motion animations. This modern update on the glue-stick and construction paper art project brings students’ ideas to life and unlocks their creativity. The post In Pawtucket, Gif-O-Graf helps students explore creativity with animation appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

The RISD Black Biennial features the work of 68 artists who are either connected to RISD or the greater Providence area and are from the African diaspora. The show’s theme is “Sonder,” a relatively new word meaning “the realization that everyone, including strangers, has a life as complex as one's own.” The post Student-curated Black Biennial breaks down walls between RISD and the community appear...

Whether you know it or not, you've probably seen Keith Haring's art. After making a name for himself as a graffiti artist in New York in the early 1980s, these days his signature pop art can be found on everything from murals to fashion to stamps. Though he died at just 31 years old, Haring's work left a lasting impact on the art world and American culture. For Artscape this week we talk with auth...

This week on Artscape: a studio session with Gian Carlo Buscaglia. The Pawtucket-based singer and guitarist got his start performing Latin American ballads and songs of social justice in the streets of Harvard Square in the 1980s. "Very bohemian, a lot of jugglers, clowns, different musicians," Buscaglia said of that time. "Tracy Chapman was around that time playing in the streets of Harvard Squar...

Rhode Island School of Design lecturer and digital artist Griffin Smith says that fine artists like painters and sculptors will be able to adapt to a world with AI-generated art – but it could eliminate a “middle class’ of designers and some freelance artists. The post As AI evolves, what role will the technology play in the world of art and design? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Creative director and co-founder Jonathan Glatt draws inspiration from the Windsor chair, a style that began in 18th-century rural England and became popular in colonial America. The post Classic New England furniture gets a modern update at O&G Studio in Warren appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

This week, hundreds of printmakers are gathering in Providence for “Verified by Proof,” a conference dedicated to the art and practice of printmaking, graphics, and small-scale publishing. There are dozens of events for the public including pop-up gallery shows and the “Open Portfolio” event which is like a swap meet for printmaking. The post Printmaking conference brings pop-up gallery shows acro...

Keith McCurdy is the songwriter, singer and guitarist for Vudu Sister, a Providence-based band that includes a rotating cast of other musicians on violin, cello, bass and more. Drawing influence from ghost stories and the macabre, they describe their music as “Gothic Folk.” Keith says another big influence on his sound is the 90s MTV Unplugged series – in particular, Nirvana’s legendary set. The p...

Written by Hansul Jung, the play is about a 6-year-old boy who was adopted from Korea by a family in Arizona who decide to rehome him after they give birth to a child. The play begins as the child, Wolf, arrives at his new home and meets his new parents, Robin and Ash. The post Adoption, belonging, and finding your pack in ‘Wolf Play’ at Wilbury Theatre appeared first on TPR: The Public's Rad...

Every year, the James Beard Foundation recognizes exceptional restaurants and chefs throughout the country, one of the highest honors in the culinary field. This year, ten Rhode Island chefs and restaurants are semifinalists, a record for the state – and one chef, Sky Hanuel Kim, was named a semifinalist for the national category of “Best Emerging Chef.” Kim is the chef at Gift Horse, a raw bar an...

Comedian Paul Mecurio has an off-Broadway show coming to the United Theatre this Saturday. Mecurio was born and raised in Rhode Island and after a brief career on Wall Street as a lawyer and investment banker, he moved into comedy. Since then he’s been on “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report,” and he’s currently on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as a performer. He’s won Emmy and Peabody awa...

For Artscape this week, we have a studio session with Allysen Callery, a singer/songwriter from Bristol, R.I., who creates quiet, haunting, 'ghost folk' with her acoustic guitar and delicate voice. The post Studio Session: Allysen Callery’s quiet, haunting ‘Ghost Folk’ appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

“True Detective: Night Country” is the fourth season of the HBO crime series. It’s set in a remote Alaskan mining town above the Arctic circle, during the darkest days of the year – the time when the sun never rises and things get a little weird for the people in the fictional town of Ennis. The show stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis. It’s the third acting role for Reis, a former boxing world champ...

When you think about seeing great art, you probably think about a visit to a museum or gallery – someplace like the RISD Museum or the Waterfire Arts Center. But some really good art can be found at airports, including T.F. Green International. Plus, we’ll have a preview of the Providence Children’s Film Festival that opens this weekend. The post Art gallery at T.F. Green gives visitors a first im...

Less than three years after opening, and just months after being featured in The New York Times, Hunky Dory in Warren has closed. The restaurant was known for its unique approach to local, seasonal, Southern-inspired food – but it was also home to a community of folk musicians. Every month on the first and third Wednesdays, […] The post Hunky Dory closes after more than 2 years of serving So...

The Gamm’s latest production is Edward Albee’s iconic play: a tragic story of a middle-aged couple, George and Martha, in a marriage that is held up by emotional torture and humiliation. The show opened on Broadway in 1962, won the Tony for best play in 1963, and became a film in 1966 starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The play opened last week at the Gamm Theatre. Morning Host Luis Her...

The Tomaquag Museum is Rhode Island’s only museum that’s totally devoted to telling the story of Indigenous peoples from a first-person perspective. Thanks to a substantial grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, it’ll soon have a new home at the University of Rhode Island campus in Kingston. In a conversation with Morning Edition […] The post NEH grants $444K to Tomaquag Museu...