A quarterly dispatch from Modesto, California — covering the 10 disciplines of working artists building the loudest cultural scene in the Central Valley.
Modesto has always been a city of makers. Poets in coffee shops at midnight, painters in garages on Saturday afternoons, kids with cheap guitars and big plans, retired teachers writing the novels they put off for forty years. What it has not always had is a stage. A place to be seen. A press that prints their names.
That is what The Modesto Quarterly exists to be. Every season, we put on roughly fifty events across ten disciplines. We hand out grants. We run masterclasses for teenagers and retirees in the same room. And four times a year, we collect what happened into this paper.
This issue is bigger than the last. Inside, you will find the spring program (thirty-six events and counting), an in-depth feature on this year's ILL List champion, a field guide to the porch parties shaking up downtown, and the full index of every partner making this possible.
If this is your first issue, welcome. If you've been reading since the beginning, thank you. Either way: pick a night, show up, bring a friend. The art is happening with or without us — but it's better with us all there.
We connect artists across disciplines and generations — building the cultural network this city has always deserved, one open mic and porch party at a time.
Working artists on real stages. Modesto's poets, painters, comics, and musicians — on full blast, with audiences that show up.
Grants, mentorship, masterclasses, showcases — every resource we can hand artists to make bigger, bolder, weirder work.
Modesto's poetry slam invitational returns to the historic State Theatre. Eight finalists, one champion, $1,500 in prizes, and a thousand people scoring every round.
Reserve a Seat →— Thirty-six events in this season. Subscribe to get the full program mailed to your door.
Once a year, eight of Modesto's best poets take the stage at the historic State Theatre to compete for the title of ILL List Champion.
The judges hold up scorecards. The crowd of one thousand screams the numbers back. The loser cries. The winner cries harder. It's the loudest poetry night in the Central Valley — and we're proud to host it.
Four issues a year. The full season program, artist features, photo essays, and a hand-printed cover from a different local artist every time. Mailed free anywhere in Stanislaus County — or pick one up at any partner location.