The program for the FABRIC Arts Festival (October 5 - 14) has been announced and features a series of music concerts, art exhibitions, public art, and dinners across the region, adding Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA to its scope. The festival will culminate in Fall River on the weekend of October 13 - 14 with city-wide programming that brings international artists to old and new spaces alike.
“The connection aims to invite audiences to view Fall River and the region as a territory of arrivals and geographic intersections, with a program inspired by the diasporic aesthetics, languages and codes that shape the region,” said co-founder of FABRIC Michael Benevides.
The festival has forged multiple collaborations with local arts and culture organizations and educational institutions to present a dynamic weekend of programming in the city. In addition to incorporating the Fall River Arts & Culture Coalition’s (FRACC) Open Studios, which includes interactive experiences at 11 artist studios and creative spaces in the city, FABRIC will also host a group exhibition called Hyberballads at FRACC’s latest creative endeavor, the Ignition Space at GATHER. The opening event on Friday, October 13, at 5 p.m. will be the inaugural offering at GATHER, located at 44 Troy Street in the old American Wallpaper Building.
FABRIC will also feature a group exhibition in the atrium of the Fall River Government Center. Unfixed Concrete Ideal was first installed in Boston City Hall, another Brutalist building of the same era, and explores the inherent paradoxes within concrete, examining its material attributes and diverse applications. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Saturday, October 14, at 1 p.m.
The festival will culminate on Bristol Community College’s Fall River Campus, first with Repose, a public art exhibition commissioned by FABRIC for the college by international artist and Somerset native Allyson Vieira. The sculptural works are positioned beside the campus’ pond and will be available for public viewing through November 11, during the campus’ hours of operation. A public reception will be held in the G Building atrium on Saturday, October 14, at 5 p.m.
Finally, in a first-time collaboration with the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, FABRIC and the LusoCentro at Bristol welcomes Gisela João, a central figure and one of the most exciting interpreters in contemporary fado music, to the stage at the Margaret L. Jackson Performing Arts Center. LusoCentro at Bristol Community College is dedicated to the study of the language and culture of the Portuguese-speaking community and works across academic disciplines to encourage the study and celebration of the Portuguese and Lusophone cultures.
“Bristol Community College is delighted to partner with the FABRIC Arts Festival to support this premier cultural initiative,” said Dr. Laura L. Douglas, President, Bristol Community College. “When I think of fabric, I literally think of hundreds of different colored threads that are woven together to form unique patterns. The FABRIC Festival weaves together the language, music and art that reflect our college and community. Bristol Community College hopes that you will visit our Fall River Campus on October 14 to celebrate FABRIC and the threads that bring us together.”
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.
“We’re excited for the fourth edition of FABRIC Arts Festival to present a program comprised of contemporary Portuguese, North American and international artists, continuing on a path of articulation and collaboration between local agents (artists, spaces, companies, institutions) and the invited artists/collectives by the festival,” said co-founder of FABRIC Jesse James.
The official program spanning Providence, New Bedford, and Fall River can be found on the festival’s website, www.fabricfallriver.com. All event tickets can be purchased online at FABRIC’s website and Eventbrite platform.