Arts & Culture

Musician Dan Blakeslee will join WUN’s Ken Abrams at 7 pm on Wednesday, December 9 to chat about his new Christmas album, his music, the 2021 calendar he created for Newport Folk Festival, and more.

Today at 3 pm, What’s Up Newp’s Ken Abrams will be hosting a live video virtual chat with Mike Renzi and Jim Porcella about their new album Christmas Is: December Duets. Tune in to watch the conversation live below or on our Facebook Page.

A tiny stage. A giant screen. Nine live dances. A bunch of dance films. You cozy in your car—it’s a drive-in! Small Moves, Big Picture, is coming to WaterFire Arts Center’s “Theatre Under the Stars” on December 13 at 6:00 PM. This special event will feature nine dance performances on a mini stage and five dance […]

Story by Community College of Rhode Island (Press Rlease) Touching upon a topic that has become increasingly more relevant during the pandemic, the Community College of Rhode Island Players continue their 2020-21 season this week with a unique adaptation of Michael Cristofer’s The Shadow Box, a play that details the struggles of three separate families dealing […]

Nicole S Maskiell, University of South Carolina What I believe to be the oldest surviving gravestone for a Black person in the Americas memorializes an enslaved teenager named Cicely. Cicely’s body is interred across from Harvard’s Johnston Gate in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She died in 1714 during a measles epidemic brought to the college by a […]

Read a good book lately? This week, WhatsUpNewp continues its authors series, videocasts, with three Rhode Island authors, each very different. Whether it’s tales of the sea, a thriller, or a true mafia story, you’ll find something to your liking. On Tuesday at 3 p.m. we meet Don Deluca, whose fascination with boat building and […]

By Island Moving Company  Island Moving Company, (IMC) Newport’s classically trained, contemporary  ballet company, is pleased to announce the World Premiere of its newest film, Through Her  Eyes – A Newport Nutcracker Reimagined – just in time for the holidays.  While in-person performances remain limited this year, IMC’s unique approach to its annual family favorite, […]

Read a good book lately?  This week, What’s Up Newp continues its authors series, videocasts, with three Rhode Island authors, each very different. Whether it’s tales of the sea, a thriller, or a true mafia story, you’ll find something to your liking. On Monday at 2 p.m. we meet Don Deluca, whose fascination with boat […]

As we approached Thanksgiving, in what at best can be considered a chaotic year, I wanted to know what it was for which we are grateful. We are amid a raging pandemic that is keeping families apart during this holiday season. Our country is divided, struggling to find our footing after a bitter election, a […]

When critics use the term “formulaic” to describe a movie, it’s not usually a compliment. Relying on time-worn storytelling beats can make for broad appeal, but people that watch hundreds of movies a year tend to be less impressed by those that play it safe— after all, something no one hates is not the same […]

Singing For Shelter, the annual Christmas concert featuring Newport-area musicians raising money for local homeless shelters, is going virtual this year. “Because COVID is preventing us from all gathering in one place on one night, we decided to offer a series of home concerts, featuring our local musicians going live from their living rooms on […]

The board of directors of the Newport Music Festival announced on Sunday that it has appointed Gillian Friedman Fox as the organization’s new executive director. During her recent and much-celebrated tenure at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Fox received critical acclaim for curating innovative and thought-provoking classical music performances and programs. Fox will usher in a new era for the […]

Common Fence Music will present Samoa Wilson, dynamic vocalist and song-stylist, in an online concert on Sunday, December 13 at 7:00 p.m. She will be appearing in her current duo, the Four O’Clock Flowers. The event is free, and all tips go to the artists. A link to the online concert will be provided at commonfencemusic.org prior to […]

British director Steve McQueen, likely best known to American audiences for his Best Picture-winning 12 Years a Slave, is set to dominate the final stretch of 2020. Partnering with both the BBC and Amazon, McQueen has created a five-film anthology series about the Black experience in Britain, titled Small Axe after a proverb popularized by […]

G. Wayne Miller calls himself a storyteller – and that’s certainly true, whether as an award winning reporter at the Providence Journal, as fellow and director and co-founder of the Story in the Public Square initiative at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center, or as the author of 19 fiction and non-fiction books. A Harvard graduate, […]

The Jamestown Arts Center has selected the awardees for its annual JAC’s Members’ Showcase.  Awardees were selected from the JAC’s Members’ Showcase submissions meeting the 30” size requirements.  All of the artwork submitted was installed into the show.  Themed Qu-ART-ine,  Best in Show Awardees will receive an exhibition in the Art Center’s small gallery during […]

Today at 2 pm, WhatsUpNewp kicks off its authors’ series, videocasts with writers from Rhode Island, or who have a Rhode Island connection. We’ll talk with novelists, short story, and non-fiction writers, sharing in their adventures. Our first author is Dr. Michael Fine, the former Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, who had […]

Today (Monday at 2 p.m.) WhatsUpNewp kicks off its authors’ series, videocasts with writers from Rhode Island, or who have a Rhode Island connection. We’ll talk with novelists, short story, and non-fiction writers, sharing in their adventures. Our first author is Dr. Michael Fine, the former Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, who […]

via Newport Historical Society The Newport Historical Society has curated a new exhibit titled “Finding Native Americans in the Historical Record.”  The first European settlers on Aquidneck Island purchased the right to settle here from the native inhabitants in 1638, with Newport being founded the following year. Despite an agreement stipulating that those first residents […]

On Saturday November 14th (1pm, 3pm) and Sunday November 15th (1pm, 3pm), the Newport String Project celebrates the Newport Art Museum’s “Call & Response” exhibition with a series of performances featuring music for string quartet from the 17th century to the present day. These imaginatively curated concerts will feature pairings of artwork on display with eclectic musical responses selected by the NSP’s artists-in-residence, the […]

By Tracy Jonsson, Founding + Artistic Director of Newport Art House Newport Art House pushes the for the arts this fall and winter! More on the organization, whose mission it is to nurture, showcase, and promote the contemporary arts, can be found at www.newportarthouse.com -Petition for Artist Housing and Studios Cultural Complex in Newport: Sanctuary II. […]

The Newport Art Museum today announced that it will present a series of five Artist Talks featuring all fifteen contemporary artists featured in its new exhibition, “Call & Response.” The exhibition, on view through February 7, 2021, showcases innovative works of art by regional artists while offering a glimpse of the Museum’s collection through fresh […]

By Jamestown Arts Center Jamestown Arts Center invites community members of all ages to explore Mexican arts and culture through, ¡Qué vivan los muertos! A Day of the Dead Workshop.   Participants receive a kit with supplies to create their own Day of the Dead project at home, followed by an online performance, and an opportunity […]

For those wanting to explore The City By The Sea, the Color Newport coloring book is not just a fascinating collection of illustrations to color, but also an illuminating travel guidebook that helps navigate the most captivating places Newport has to offer.  From the historic mansions located on the scenic Cliff Walk, to the acclaimed […]

The Trial of the Chicago 7, which dropped on Netflix yesterday after a limited theatrical run, is a film with palpably lofty ambitions. It intends to be the next great courtroom drama, and coming from Aaron Sorkin, the legendary screenwriter whose film career started with A Few Good Men, that’s not an unreasonable expectation. It […]

The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County (ACA) today announced Jessica Slocum as the recipient of a 2020 Arts & Cultural Alliance Artist Award. Slocum is producing a film about Russell Daly, a Newport-based artist who passed away in 2019. The film will honor and celebrate Daly and allow the audience, as Daly writes, […]

The Newport Art Museum today announced that it will present a new exhibition, “Call & Response,” which will be on view October 17 – December 31, 2020. “Call & Response” showcases innovative works of art by regional artists while offering a glimpse of the Museum’s collection through fresh eyes. Donnabelle Casis, Untitled (220-17 RM), 2020, Gouache on panel, 40 […]

The Aquidneck Land Trust (“ALT”) announces the start of its  annual Art & Writing Contest, a competition for local students to portray their favorite Aquidneck Island  vistas. The contest encourages students to create artwork, written essays and poems that express their  appreciation of the island’s natural beauty. Winners are awarded generous cash prizes and family  […]

It has been a minute, but Sean Galvin has returned to the pages of What’s Up Newp with his mildly entertaining Newport-inspired comics. Keep an eye out for Galvin’s work on a regular basis here on whatsupnewp.com. Follow Sean’s work on Instagram and Facebook. See some of Sean’s previous work on What’s Up Newp: Newport […]

Area writers of Italian heritage have a chance to show off as Newport Festa Italiana is sponsoring a new activity this year.  An essay contest centering on the theme, “A Favorite Memory of Growing Up Italian,” will jog some memories and spark much discussion. The essays are limited to 500 words. Three prizes will be […]

Sherlock Holmes is among the most famous characters in all of fiction, as well as the human literary character with the most on-screen appearances (only Dracula has him beat overall). The new Netflix release Enola Holmes is the latest film to join this long tradition, and in its Victorian storyworld, Sherlock’s name means as much […]

(Boston, MA – September 16, 2020) The Handel and Haydn Society announced it will offer five new streaming concerts throughout the fall featuring select H+H musicians performing works by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, and more. The fall program has moved online following the July announcement of the closure of Symphony Hall through November. Each concert will […]

“My goal is to write pulp fiction, but good pulp fiction,” says Robert Isenberg, a freelance writer based in Rhode Island. “I try to combine outrageous plots – like levitating murderers and opium-den virtual reality – with vivid historical realism. I call it ‘Dorothy Parker meets The X-Files.’” Just in time for Halloween, Isenberg will […]

By Island Moving Co. Island Moving Company, (IMC) Newport’s classically trained, contemporary ballet company, announces performance dates for both its ground-breaking new dance film and repertory series productions In Newport & Bristol, RI.  Both events comply with all CDC & RI Dept. of Health guidelines for outdoor events, including  physically distanced seating & required use […]

Adapting a book for the big screen can be a tricky process. People often talk about film adaptations in terms of faithfulness to the source material, but those discussions put too much focus on story over storytelling, when the former is no guarantee of success. Even with the original story kept perfectly intact, what made […]

Six women from different walks of life who were brought together in a Circle of Scholars writing class for seniors have published a collection of their memoirs titled “How We Got Here: The Women of WriteLife.” WriteLife is the memoir writing seminar that is offered through Salve Regina University’s lifelong learning program, Circle of Scholars. The […]

 I’m Thinking of Ending Things, the latest work from filmmaker Charlie Kaufman adapted from Iain Reid’s novel of the same name, is a difficult film to write about. As the screenwriter behind Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and writer-director of Synecdoche, New York, and Anomalisa, Kaufman’s has always been […]

What’sUpNewp is launching a new live stream video series “What’s Up in Local Music” on Thursday, September 10th. The series, scheduled for 7 pm, will be hosted by Lifestyle Editor, Music Critic, and WRIU DJ Ken Abrams, and will include local musicians and others connected to the industry. In this episode we catch up with […]

(Boston – September 8, 2020) The Boch Center is launching the Ghost Light Series, a live music program filmed onstage at the Wang Theatre. Set to air on New England’s Connection (NECN), the series will showcase critically acclaimed artists including Keb’ Mo’, Lori McKenna, The Mammals, Tom Rush, Noel Paul Stookey, Jonathan Edwards, and more. […]

After months of disruptions that continue to impact film distribution, we’ve now reached a point in the year when studios are starting to take chances with their blockbusters – high-cost productions they rely on for big financial returns. Many remain delayed indefinitely, and some, like Tenet, are forging ahead with a theatrical release, but Disney […]