Fall River, MA, Providence, RI – The lineup for the FABRIC Arts Festival, scheduled for October 10-13, has been unveiled, showcasing a diverse array of events including music concerts, art exhibitions, a public art installation, experiential nature walk, communal dinners, and educational workshops. These activities will be hosted in both Providence, RI, and Fall River, MA, the festival’s host city.
“FABRIC Arts Festival is a celebration of Fall River’s vibrant spirit as a crossroads of creativity and culture. We see the city as a dynamic space where diverse geographies and histories intersect, and our festival seeks to honor and amplify this rich tapestry through a multidisciplinary approach that connects local artistry with global dialogues.” — Michael Benevides, co-founder of FABRIC
FABRIC is structured around three core themes: visual arts and architecture, music and performance, and food and gatherings. These elements are interwoven, creating a cohesive and interconnected program.
“Our main goal has always been bringing people together through arts and culture. This year, food has taken center stage in the FABRIC Arts Festival. While we’ve previously included dinners in our program, this time, the act of eating is fundamental to our approach. It creates a vibrant space for new artistic collaborations and serves as a medium to explore memories, emotions, and our diasporic experiences. — Jesse James, co-founder and curator of FABRIC
FABRIC is organized by Casa dos Açores de Nova Inglaterra (CANI) under the leadership of Michael Benevides in Fall River, with Portugal-based curator Jesse James, and a production team on both continents.
The official program follows; more details on the artists and locations can be found on the festival’s website, www.fabricfallriver.com. All event tickets can be purchased online at FABRIC’s website, and on Eventbrite, https://fabricfestivalfallriver.eventbrite.com.
This is a ticketed event with limited capacity.
Honoring CANI’S mission to connect the Islands and its diaspora, Fabric curates a special program that showcases examples of dynamic happenings in the Azorean cultural ecosystem. Conceived as a dinner performance, participants will be invited to “eat the landscape” of the island, immersed by the sounds of four of the archipelago’s most prominent musicians, who have come together as Cavalo Marinho for this one night. Food creative Catarina Ferreira will craft the menu, and architect Nuno Pimenta will design the set.
1 PM | PARANOID ARCHAEOLOGY – LUNCH – TALK
ODETE | Brown University | Meiklejohn House – 159 George Street, Providence
Opening event | Doors open at 5 PM, and entrance is free (limited capacity)
Visiting | Exhibition will be open through Nov 1st – THU/FRI/SAT (12-5 PM)
In a collaboration with The Department of Portuguese & Brazilian Studies, Odete will share insights on “Paranoid Archaeology, a method of speculative writing that she has developed. The artist will show how her works have been created using this methodology, contextualizing it within the field of transgender studies.
5 PM | HOW DOES IT FEEL ON THE TONGUE – GROUP EXHIBITION
CATARINA REAL, EDUARDO FONSECA E SILVA, EVELYN RYDZ, INÊS BRITES, MARIA APPLETON, ODETE, SOFIA CAETANO | The Ignition Space | 44 Troy Street, Fall River
Opening event | Doors open at 5 PM, and entrance is free.
Visiting | Exhibition will be open through OCT 27th – FRI (4-8PM) SAT-SUN (12-5 PM)
How does food connect us with others, with our past, or with the environment? “How does it feel on the tongue?” prompts questions about how food and its various forms—be it a dish, a recipe, or an image—impact our bodies, memories, feelings, and thoughts. Set around a table, the exhibition sparks conversations about care, proximity, and the shared knowledge embedded in recipes, plants, and personal stories.
7 PM | BAILE/PARTY/FIESTA – LIVE PERFORMANCES
PEDRO MAFAMA, WHERE’S NASTY, REINA DEL MAR | P.A.L. | 31 Franklin Street, Fall River
FOOD BY: BEM BOM, POP’S MOBILE BRICK OVEN PIZZA
COCKTAILS BY: BĀS
This is a ticketed event with limited capacity. Follow the link on our website for tickets.
Fabric is hosting its own festa, expanding to multiple communities, and transforming the P.A.L. into a cultural experience with a dance floor in its center. Portuguese sensation Pedro Mafama will headline the party, joined by DJs Where’s Nasty of Providence and Portugal’s Reina Del Mar.
8 PM | REINA DEL MAR – DJ SET
Reina del Mar is the alter-ego of a curator and organizer who uses sound as a tool for disruption and collective building. Her work explores hydrofeminism, focusing on themes of flooding and floating in a post-capitalist landscape. Through “plastic product poetry” (PPP), she transforms commercial messages into sound mantras addressing excess, addiction, and environmental degradation.
9 PM | PEDRO MAFAMA – CONCERT
Pedro Mafama, a Lisbon-born musician, draws inspiration from the city and Portuguese traditions for his music and aesthetic. With his unique vocal style, he explores themes of identity, urban life, and personal experiences. Critically acclaimed, he is emerging as a key figure in contemporary Portuguese music, gaining a growing fanbase both locally and internationally.
10 PM |WHERE’S NASTY – DJ SET
Where’s Nasty, is a Cape Verdean-American DJ and multi-media event producer who has been instrumental in cultivating Providence’s creative scene. Starting as a rapper, he now hosts parties and collaborates with brands and His entrepreneurial ventures, including Stay Silent, Crib, and the Day Trill festival, have become key pillars in his local community and beyond.
On Saturday, Fabric moves to Providence, RI, with a program developed with local partners and venues – for a talk on local art practices with Odd-Kin Gallery, a dialogue exhibition between two artists at World’s Fair Gallery and a performance from Odete at AS220.
11 AM – 1 PM | THE ADVANTAGES AND OBSTACLES OF PROJECT SPACES – BRUNCH/TALK
ODD-KIN GALLERY |89 Valley Street, East Providence
Free Admission. ODD-KIN’s fall group exhibition will be open to the public.
What are the opportunities and challenges for project spaces? Do they have the potential for constant evolution? Hosted by OOD-KIN, a project space based in East Providence, RI, this talk will bring together curators, mediators, and artists to discuss the tricky magic presented by spaces that offer possibility through innovative models. Moderated by writer and critic Jessica Shearer, the discussion will be followed by open conversation over food.
Moderator: Jessica Shearer (Art Writer and Senior Editor at Boston Art Review)
Kate McNamara (Founding Director, ODD-KIN)
Sheida Soleimani (Artist)
Harry Gould Harvey IV, (Co-Founding Director, Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art)
Brittni Ann Harvey, (Co-Founding Director, at Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art)
Jake Tobin (Artist)
6 PM |WHAT HANDS CAN NOT HOLD – EXHIBITION
MAGALY PONCE & JOÃO ROLAÇA | WORLD’S FAIR GALLERY | 268 Broadway, Providence
Opening event | Doors open at 6 PM, and entrance is free.
World’s Fair Gallery showcases artworks and editions by emerging and established contemporary artists and designers based in Providence, RI. For Fabric, it expands its networks to promote a dialogue between Chilean artist Magaly Ponce and Portuguese sculptor and ceramist João Rolaça. There will be snacks and cocktails provided by Little Bitte.
9 PM | ODETE – PERFORMANCE
AS220 BLACK BOX | 95 Empire Street, Providence
TICKETS $10-25: https://as220.org/calendar/fabric-festival-presents-odete
Doors open at 8:30 PM.
Between the invented word, glossolalia, Portuguese and English, this concert by Odete wanders through spells of revenge, love, or even contemplation. The constellations of melodies, beats and samples point the way to a magical and speculative world where everything is twisted in intensities, sorrows, and primordial dreams.
11 AM – 3 PM | A WALK ON THE WATUPPA – EXPERIENTIAL EXCURSION
COPICUT WOODS | 2929 Blossom Road, Fall River
Free Admission. Follow the link on our website to reserve a spot.
Fabric ends with a collective walk on the trails of the Watuppa Reservation in Fall River. This walk will be guided by local experts: Indigenous community members, biologists, chefs, and artists. We learn about the ecosystem we are part of, the dangers it faces, and the preservation efforts we can all contribute to. We converse and understand the land as something that is not separate from us and learn about the people that always lived on it. Local herbal tea will be brewed and served to accompany us on our walk.
11 AM -5 PM | OPEN STUDIOS FALL RIVER
Multiple Locations
Free admission. More info at https://www.fallriverartsandculturecoalition.org/open-studios
Open Studios is an initiative developed by the Fall River Arts & Culture Coalition (FRACC), designed to invite the city and its creative individuals, spaces, and practices into a collaborative experience. There’s no set itinerary, allowing participants to arrange their schedules based on their availability and personal interests. Each location will also curate its own unique activities and offerings.
Greater Fall River Art Association | 80 Belmont Street
Narrows Center for the Arts | 16 Anawan Street
Rox Art | 28 Anawan Street
Shane Landing Studios – Carriage House | 90 Pond Street
Smokestack Studios |192 Anawan St., Building 6, 5th floor
SoCo Art Labs | 145 Globe Street
The Ignition Space | 44 Troy Street
FABRIC’s first edition took place in 2019, and its second in two moments between 2020 and 2021, reconfigured in the physical and online spheres by the limitations of the pandemic. The third edition occurred in May 2022, under the title, Where We Meet, assuming the festival as a generator of meeting spaces throughout the city of Fall River. In 2023, Fabric returned to its Fall schedule and proposed a regional program that moved between Fall River, New Bedford, and Providence.
FABRIC Arts Festival is a project organized by Casa dos Açores de Nova Inglaterra (CANI), a not-for-profit organization in Fall River, MA, established in 1982. CANI promotes educational, cultural and social opportunities as well as cultural and tourist exchange between the Azorean immigrant community in southwest New England and the Azores. Promoting events, encounters and cultural manifestations keep an active link between the local community and the islands, preserving traditions and creating new opportunities.
The project was co-founded by local business owner Michael Benevides in collaboration with Jesse James, Sofia Carolina Botelho, and António Pedro Lopes, Portuguese curators and cultural mediators.
To learn more about FABRIC, please visit fabricfallriver.com and follow on Instagram / Facebook