The fourth edition of Fabric expanded its geographic scope, navigating between Fall River, Providence, and New Bedford. Over two weekends, the festival engaged around 40 artists across visual arts, music, performance, and food, fostering regional connections and celebrating diverse cultural expressions.

Central to the program were Caique Tizzi’s Tropical Anthology, a dinner-performance in Providence that delved into diasporic movements of food like pineapples, blending culinary artistry with storytelling, and On the Other Side, an immersive dinner-performance. The latter brought together Sónia Almeida’s jacquard weavings, André e. Teodósio’s somatic performances, and Chef Robert Andreozzi’s inventive culinary creations, embodying Fabric’s enduring exploration of commensality, food, and communal encounters.

The exhibition program featured Hyperballads, curated by Jesse James at The Ignition Space, showcasing works by Allyson Vieira, Nadia Belerique, Yuli Yamagata, Beatriz Brum, Eva Papagarmariti, Gil Ferrão, Horácio Frutuoso, and Sónia Almeida, exploring themes of materiality and transformation. Unfixed Concrete Ideal, a collective exhibition at Fall River’s Government Center curated by Ben Sloat and Allyson Vieira, explores the duality of concrete’s fluid adaptability and rigid solidity, while examining its use in shaping spaces with contrasting ideals, from utopian visions to oppressive structures. Public art projects included Repose, a sculptural installation by Allyson Vieira at Bristol Community College, a reflection on emergencies and our stance toward them, suggesting a "re-pose" or shift in perspective.

The music program continued Fabric’s tradition of showcasing diverse sounds and cultures. It featured the Azorean band WE SEA, whose indie rock sound resonated deeply with audiences, and Gisela João, one of Portugal’s leading fado singers, in a unique collaboration with the Zeiterion Theatre. This unprecedented partnership brought fado to new audiences, blending traditional and contemporary interpretations of the genre.

Fabric 2023 also strengthened community ties through Open Studios by FRAACC, which invited over 500 visitors into local artists’ workspaces, fostering connections and deeper appreciation for the region’s creative practices. With significant support from Portuguese and American institutions, the festival reaffirmed its role as a vital platform for cultural exchange and artistic creation.

“Fall River - This small, post-industrial city is becoming a fertile ground for artists”
in The Boston Globe - Cate McQuaid