Artscape is our weekly feature on art, music, theatre, dance, performance and more. Listen every Thursday during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. You can also subscribe to Artscape on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or use this RSS feed in your podcatcher of choice. To let us know about an artist or event, please email arts@thepublicsradio.org.
New Community MusicWorks Center is more than a space for making music
After more than 25 years working from a small storefront on Westminster Street, Community MusicWorks has opened their new CMW Center. The two-story building in Providence’s West End features ensemble rehearsal rooms, individual practice rooms, and a performance hall. But it’s the casual gathering spaces that set the building apart.
‘Water Brother’ film tells the story of New England surfing and skateboarding legend Sid Abbruzzi
If you skateboard or surf in New England, you know the name Sid Abbruzzi. He runs the Water Brothers Surf & Skate Shop in Newport, and played a key role in expanding the skating and surfing culture in the Northeast. He’s the focus of the new documentary “Water Brother: The Sid Abbruzzi Story.”
Studio Session: The Leland Baker Trio’s ‘sacred language’ of jazz and blues
Saxophonist, composer and music educator Leland Baker studied jazz in New Orleans and New York before coming back home to Rhode Island. Since then he’s established a residency at the Courtland Club in Providence, performed at the Newport Jazz Festival – and he hopes to use his position as music education manager with the Newport Festivals Foundation to build musical mentorships like those he experienced in Louisiana.
‘Scandalous Conduct’: Telling the queer history behind the Newport Navy sex scandal of 1919
A new musical documentary features transcriptions of the Navy’s 1919 investigation into homosexual activity by sailors in Newport, along with music from a vaudeville drag show that was going on right down the street.
Live/work: How the housing shortage threatens Providence’s identity as the ‘creative capital’
Affordable live/work housing for artists has become a rarity in Providence, in part because there’s just not a lot of affordable housing in general. So where are artists living and working today – and when housing is so scarce for everyone, why is it important to have affordable spaces for artists to live and create?
Live/work: How old mill buildings shaped Providence’s 90s art renaissance
Back in the 1990s, Providence was home to a thriving community of artists. One of the things that made it possible was the ample affordable live/work spaces artists found in the old mill buildings of the city’s industrial past. With many of those buildings gone and little affordable housing to spare, can Providence hold onto its reputation as a cultural capital?
Studio Session: The whimsical three-part harmonies of The Whelks’ ‘Reverse Mermaid’
The Warren- and Tiverton-based acoustic trio are bound by a shared love of early country, swing, and Rhode Island – all of which come through in the sound and songwriting of their debut album.
El Patio de Comidas: Summer-long celebration of Central American cuisine provides a launch pad for local businesses
Hundreds gather in New Bedford’s Riverside Park on Saturdays throughout the summer to enjoy Latin American food from local vendors who got their start through the Patio de Comidas initiative. The series, which also features music, dancing, and local goods, concludes on Saturday with a grand finale: the Festival Tipico de Guatemala.
50 years later, revisiting the impact of Newport’s ‘Monumenta’ on public art
A symposium at Rosecliff brings together some of the people who made “Monumenta” possible 50 years ago.
New documentary highlights how North Providence Summer Basketball League transcended racial, class divides
Established in the early 1960s, the North Providence Summer Basketball League became known not just for its quality athletic competition, but for bringing together players of all races and socio-economic backgrounds during a time of great social upheaval. The league’s story is featured in a new documentary in development entitled “Meet Me at the Court.” Morning host Luis Hernandez spoke with Evan Villari, the film’s producer and director, and Len Cabral, a renowned storyteller and former NPSBL player.
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