Rhode Island School of Design

Nine RISD students and recent graduates are working to fuel meaningful change across the globe this summer as Maharam fellows.

Fellows work in arenas not typically associated with art and design and focus on sustainability and social justice in community organizations close to home and overseas.

RISD Maharam Fellows Fuel Change Across the Globe RISD students and recent graduates combine art and design with sustainability and social justice in 2024 Maharam Fellowships.

Take a look and see how President Williams uses the RISD President’s House to showcase the work of faculty, students and alums.

Featured in The New York Times special design section, President Williams discusses how she has created a welcoming and inspiring space for herself and guests – “The house is a great vessel, just as the school is a great vessel,” she said. The building’s contents increasingly represent “a wide variety of art traditions and languages and viewpoints.”

What Has 25 Rooms and Comes with the Job? When Crystal Williams became president of Rhode Island School of Design, she moved into a Colonial Revival mansion and rolled up her sleeves.

“With 549 students on campus through July, this is the second biggest Pre-College class RISD has hosted in Continuing Ed’s 50-year history,” says CE Executive Director John Murphy. “They come to Providence from across the country and around the world to be immersed in RISD’s pedagogy.”

The program is run RISD Continuing Education, which also offers classes and camps for kids, youth and adults and the Advanced Program Online.

RISD Hosts One of the Largest Pre-College Classes in its History The program is run by the college’s Continuing Ed division, which also offers classes and camps for kids, youth and adults and the Advanced Program Online.

This summer, three new courses were added to RISD Global's summer offerings with students exploring the arts in Greece, Japan and the Philippines.

As RISD Global Director Sarah Croft explains, “We advocate for global learning opportunities that reflect the school’s commitment to edification through an international lens. Each course provides exposure to diverse cultural milieus and ways of making as well as interactions with artists and designers in various regions of the world.”

Three New RISD Global Summer Courses Explore the Arts in Greece, Japan and the Philippines Students make cross-cultural connections and take a deep dive into fundamental concepts of truth and beauty, manga and Indigenous Filipino arts traditions.

RISD has been selected as a 2024 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative awardee to fund an energy efficiency study for three key RISD Museum buildings, boosting their sustainability and ensuring their longevity for future museum visitors.

The Initiative is the first grant program of its kind that catalyzes climate action at visual arts organizations and was established by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, in collaboration with Environment & Culture Partners and RMI.

MoMA PS1 and RISD among the 69 U.S. arts organizations to receive funding from the 2024 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative MoMA PS1 and RISD among the 69 U.S. arts organizations to receive funding from the 2024 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative. Funding will enable these organizations to achieve multiple sustainability-oriented objectives.

The Somerson Sustainability Innovation Fund is supporting four ongoing research projects by Architecture faculty member Laura Briggs, Graphic Design faculty member Anastasiia Raina and recent grads Yizhou "Viola” Tan as well as a collaborative endeavor by Maxwell Fertick and Erika Kane.

The projects range from composting and improving the visual data used to drive climate research to sustainable biomaterials and tenants’ rights.

Somerson Sustainability Innovation Fund Supports Social Justice and Planetary Health Four ongoing research projects by faculty and recent alums focus on composting, improving the visual data used to drive climate research, sustainable biomaterials and tenants’ rights.

Recent Apparel Design grad Henry Hawk is representing RISD at the annual Supima Design Competition in September during New York Fashion Week. He’s been in the studio this summer working on his women’s evening wear capsule collection

"I’m really a nerd about jeans and could go on all day about their history and the forgotten techniques used to make them," he says. "I’m highlighting those elements for my Supima designs and trying to push decorative but functional details into evening."

Apparel Designer Henry Hawk to Represent RISD at Supima Design Competition A devotee of historical workwear, the environmentally conscious new grad will show his all-cotton collection at New York Fashion Week in September.

Inspired by the canyons of the southwest, Rising RISD Interior Architecture senior Holden Rappuhn’s design for a music school won him an Angelo Donghia Foundation Student Scholarship in Interior Design.

“This award has definitely boosted my confidence in terms of creating digital representations,” says Rappuhn, who followed the contest recommendations by submitting 3D computer renderings along with hand-drawn sketches. “The faculty has been incredibly supportive during my time here,” he adds. “They’re truly passionate about seeing us grow and thrive, not just as artists but as people.”

RISD Student Holden Rappuhn Wins Angelo Donghia Foundation Scholarship Inspired by the canyons of the southwest, Rappuhn’s design for a music school secured a $30,000 prize.

This summer, more than 300 RISD students are working at summer internships for art and design organizations as nearby as Providence and as far away as the Netherlands.

“The Career Center actively engages with leading companies and organizations throughout the year to promote RISD talent,” says Associate Director Susan Andersen. “These opportunities allow students to gain work experience, build skills and networks for future jobs and learn how to navigate real-world markets and scenarios.”

RISD Students Expand Their Horizons Via Enlightening Summer Internships More than 300 students are working for art and design organizations as nearby as Providence and as far away as the Netherlands.

From lost-wax casting to hand-carving, the first cohort of apprentices are learning valuable skills in the studio this summer thanks to a new partnership between RISD and world-renowned luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co.

The two-year, 4,000-hour apprenticeship program, which also involves the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Building Futures Rhode Island, is part of Tiffany’s efforts to develop a new generation of skilled craftspeople. RISD’s Continuing Education division and Jewelry + Metalsmithing department worked with Tiffany & Co. to build the seven-course workforce development program and select faculty for the RISD-led courses. Learn more about the new partnership below.

RISD Partners with Tiffany & Co. on Jeweler Apprenticeship Program The first cohort of apprentices-in-training are nearly halfway through the two-year, 4,000-hour pilot program.

Six student projects are using SPUR funding granted through Research & Strategic Partnerships to support extracurricular research promoting social equity, sustainability and the power of design thinking—central pillars of RISD’s strategic plan.

Learn more about the projects below.

SPUR-funded RISD Student Research Advances Sustainability and Social Equity Grants are awarded for projects whose methodologies reflect diverse perspectives, utilize experimental approaches and provide innovative solutions.

See the work of more than 100 local artists, including many from the RISD community, in “NetWorks Rhode Island and the Chazan Collection: A Half-Century of RI Patronage” WaterFire Arts Center. Join in the celebration at the opening reception on Thursday, July 18 from 6–8 pm.

On view through September 1.
WaterFire Arts Center
475 Valley Street

“Artists in Conversation” events on Thursday evenings throughout August. Participating RISD community members include:
Deborah Baronas 79 TX, Kate Blacklock MFA 87 CR, Jesse Burke MFA 05 PH, Ruth Dealy 71 PT/MFA 73 PT, Bob Dilworth 73 PT, David Frazer 71 PT, Julie Gearan, Richard Goulis 84 FAV, Scott Lapham 90 PH, Paula Martiesian 76 PT, Allison Newsome MFA 83 CR, Jacqueline Ott MFA 73 SC, Erminio Pinque 83 IL, President Emerita Rosanne Somerson 76 ID and Wendy Wahl MAE 85
Photo Credit: RISD student Fraenkie Poluchov 27 PH

NetWorks Rhode Island and the Chazan Collection: A Half-Century of RI Artistic Patronage WaterFire Providence presents NetWorks

RISD faculty member Jonathan D.S. Schroeder, the scholar who rediscovered the narrative, said he hopes the book will restore fugitive and abolitionist John S. Jacobs to history.

Read more below via The New York Times.

A Furious, Forgotten Slave Narrative Resurfaces After Nearly 170 Years John S. Jacobs was a fugitive, an abolitionist — and the brother of the canonical author Harriet Jacobs. Now, his own fierce autobiography has re-emerged.

Incoming first-year students Emerson Zumstein 28 EFS, Jaz Means 28 EFS, Luka Pruvost 28 EFS and Avari Escobar 28 EFS will join hundreds of other incoming first-year students after earning full scholarships through RISD’s Project Open Door (POD) program Saturday Portfolio Program.

POD is run through the Teaching + Learning in Art + Design department and provides creative local teens with free classes and helps participating high school seniors manage college applications and develop their portfolios.

Talented Project Open Door Grads Earn Full Scholarships to RISD Four incoming first-year students discuss the enormous impact that POD has had on their lives.

A multitude of work by RISD MFA students and recent grads is on view this summer in New York City.

Artists from RISD’s Ceramics, Painting, Photography and Sculpture departments are sharing new pieces in several philosophical and identity-focused group exhibitions.

RISD MFAs Show Work in NYC Summer Exhibitions Off-campus exhibitions showcase the exceptional work graduate students make in RISD’s Ceramics, Painting, Photography and Sculpture departments.

President Williams was recently a guest on SiriusXM's "Randi Zuckerberg Means Business" to discuss RISD's impact and some of the exciting partnerships underway, including the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s global Terra Carta Design Lab, RISD's partnership with Hyundai Motor Group, and the institutions imperative focus on social equity and inclusion, sustainability, and their relevance to art and design now and in the future. The interview segment can be found at minute 34:13.

Art Week | Randi Zuckerberg Means Business An entertaining, educational, and engaging way to discuss all of the latest trends and topics in business, and how they’re affecting our modern lives. Drawing on years of experience in the tech sector as an entrepreneur and mother, host Randi Zuckerberg will provide a forum for discussion and delv...

Meet the 10 RISD finalists shortlisted in the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s global Terra Carta Design Lab competition, which seeks student-led, high-impact solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis.

Along with RISD, this year the competition has been run in conjunction with Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE), National Institute of Design Ahmedabad (India) and the Royal College of Art (UK).

Ten RISD Finalists Selected for Terra Carta Design Lab Competition Sustainable Markets Initiative jury to award £100,000 prizes to two of the innovative, scalable approaches to mitigating the global climate crisis.

Nearly 200 juniors, seniors and grad students recently took part in the risd/careers/ popular annual Fine Arts Portfolio Review.

Fine Arts Portfolio Review 2024 Helps RISD Students Plan Creative Careers Nearly 200 juniors, seniors and grad students took part in the Career Center’s popular annual event.

RISD Alumni Magazine Summer issue is out now!

In this issue read about, turning robotics upside down in the Andes, the future of yacht design and learn how alumni are exploring the concept of home, breaking down barriers and making playtime a full-time job.

Read online: alumni.risd.edu/alumni-magazine

To close out their undergraduate careers, Brown|RISD Dual Degree students recently present their capstone projects in the Lindemann Performing Arts Center at Brown University.

This year’s group offered a captivating and emotional look into their multidisciplinary work.

Brown|RISD Dual Degree Students Share Multidisciplinary Capstone Projects At a well-attended May presentation, Class of 2024 dual degree students discussed their challenging, five-year journeys.

This year, 29 submitted pieces were included in the Society Of Illustrators Annual Student Scholarship Competition, seven of which were awarded cash prizes.

“It’s always a nice validation from the industry that our program is shaping artists who are bound for success in their fields,” says Illustration Department Head Eric Telfort 05 IL.

RISD Students Take Annual Society of Illustrators Competition by Storm Twenty-nine submitted pieces were included in the NYC exhibition, seven of which were awarded cash prizes.

Students recently learned to create a range of effects by hacking outdoor kilns built at the nearby The Steel Yard.

“I was the studio manager and a teacher at the Steel Yard before coming to work at RISD,” says alum and faculty member Jane Dillon 79 CR/MA 12, “and the folks who work there, including Howie [Sneider 02 SC, executive director], are always welcoming. They just keep moving forward and working to improve the Woonasquatucket Watershed and the Valley Arts District.”

RISD’s Ceramics Department Fires Up New Raku Kiln at the Steel Yard Students learn to create a range of effects by hacking outdoor kilns built at the nearby nonprofit arts center.

How we can bring together technology, business and design to address the climate crisis?

RISD recently joined the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta Design Lab (TCDL) to find student- and alum-led, high-impact solutions to the climate crisis. This year, the competition includes four design schools from across the world—RISD along with the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE), the National Institute of Design, India (India), and the Royal College of Art (UK).

In the latest Royal College of Art podcast Provost Touba Ghadessi joins in a discussion with CEO of the Sustainable Markets Initiative and leading representatives from each of these global institutions.

RCA podcast: Designing the future - educating for sustainability in art and design Dr Nick de Leon chats to leaders of global art and design schools to consider how we can best empower students to make an impact in sustainable design and art.

The 2023–24 academic year came to a close with final crits in studios across campus.

Critique is an integral part of RISD’s pedagogy. The ability to give and receive constructive criticism and then integrate that feedback into the next iteration of a project serves artists, designers and scholars long after they’ve graduated.

RISD Students Present Final Projects to Peers, Professors and Visiting Critics The 2023–24 academic year comes to a close with final crits in studios across campus.

Debates in AI talks are now online at YouTube, Spotify and ApplePodcasts. Click below for more.

Recently held on campus, the groundbreaking symposium delved into the multifaceted dimensions of artificial intelligence (AI) and its profound impact on creative disciplines.

Featuring:
Taeyoon Choi
Molly Crabapple
Kate Crawford
Ben Davis
Stephanie Dinkins
Cory Doctorow
Elisa Giardina Papa
Brian Merchant
Trevor Paglen
Christiane Paul
Jon Rafman
Marco Roso
Dorothy R. Santos
Griffin Smith
Eric Telfort
Clement Valla

Debates in AI | Rhode Island School of Design RISD presents “Debates in AI,” a groundbreaking symposium that delves into the multifaceted dimensions of artificial intelligence (AI) and its profound impact on creative disciplines.

Students, families, alumni, faculty and staff gathered for Commencement and Reunion Weekend to honor RISD's newest graduates, the class of 2024.

President Crystal Williams delivered the opening remarks before awarding honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees to local engraver and curator Nicholas W. Benson and Marva Griffin Wilshire, founder of Milan’s international design show SaloneSatellite. “Here you have been challenged to push your creative boundaries,” Williams told graduating students. “You are beautifully prepared for whatever comes next. Your toolbox is overflowing, and you’re in a position to enact and expand upon your dreams.”

RISD Welcomes the Class of 2024 into its International Alumni Community Graduating students, families, alumni, faculty and staff marked the occasion with three days of events, including dinners, discussions and dancing.

Apparel Design seniors recently presented their collections at the "Collection 2024" runway show.

“The senior collections reflect a great variety of references and approaches to clothing the body,” says current Department Head Gwen Van Den Eijnde. “Every collection synthesizes a number of indispensable elements—from knowledge of the tactile qualities of cloth to proportion and silhouette in relation to the human body—in order to create expressive individual statements about culture and identity.”

Apparel Design Seniors Present Cohesive Collections at RISD’s Annual Runway Show The well-crafted looks were unveiled in late May at Providence’s WaterFire Arts Center.

Dorner Prize winners Naya Lee Chang BRDD 24 FD and Linda Sok MFA 25 SC created two site-specific interventions that aim to make the RISD Museum and its holdings more accessible to diverse visitors.

Winning 2024 Dorner Prize Projects Reflect on RISD Museum’s History and Practices RISD students create two site-specific interventions that aim to make the museum and its holdings more accessible to diverse visitors.