RISD is moving quickly into the Spring season. Here are just a few things that students and our community have been up to!

Freshman have declared intended majors.
At an informal gathering held at The Met on Wednesday night, students got the chance to ask upperclassmen about the finer details of their academic life.
“Deciding on a major is a big decision. Some students are a little stressed right now,” explained Student Alliance President Alexander Dale BArch 13. “We wanted to give them a chance to air out questions or concerns they might have before making the leap.”

Twitter Founder, Jack Dorsey was on campus
Dorsey came to campus as part of RISD’s Entrepreneurship Mindshare, a Career Center series that connects students with accomplished alumni, business mentors and thought leaders. The opportunity allows artists and designers to make professional connections, learn about financial literacy and develop marketing strategies.

The  Annual RISD “Creature Show” has debuted. Since 1987, the Creature-Creation Wintersession Class has united RISD Creature-Creation Students with collegiate and local arts communities.  Guest musicians and participants from the BIG NAZO LAB participate in a comical, cosmic, multi-media performance-art spectacle featuring the debut of over a dozen extraordinary foam-rubber creations. We are anxious to see this year’s creatures! Take a peek at the creatures from last year:

RISD Creature Creation Show 2011 – Excerpts from BIG NAZO on Vimeo.

TEDActive sparks Students
This year, RISD was among seven colleges and universities invited to participate in a new endeavor known as TEDActive Takeover, a way for college students to join in the TEDActive conversation. RISD’s artists and designers considered timely topics – like the future of mobile technology or the impact of social philanthropy – and then shared their ideas at the TEDActive gathering, with a live stream going to the TED Conference in Long Beach.

Sunshine and student enthusiasm were in no short supply on RISD Admission’s last trip of the year to Miami, FL. On a four day trek starting in West Palm Beach my colleague Becky Fong and I were treated to the creativity, talent, and passion brought to our visit by each school’s student body.

The overal enthusiasm displayed by the students is certainly reflective of Maimi’s strong commitment to the arts and culture. Our favorite spot to catch some of the city’s fantastic work on display? The Wynwood Walls! Featuring work from artists across the globe, we were delighted to see one of RISD’s own, Shepard Fairy, claiming space at the outdoor gallery. His work is featured in the photo below!

We wish all our applicants good luck as we begin our application review season.

If you have any questions, please email admissions@risd.edu

Becky Fong & Peter Williamson

While recruiting in the Philadelphia area, I had the great pleasure of visiting Urban Outfitters main home office. They are the parent company of Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN. They have amazing products, wares, clothes and career opportunities not only for new graduates, but current students and seasoned alumni.

I met with Jane Day, Talent Director, who toured me around. It is truly an inspiring place to work, with lots of creative outlets. Check out some selected pics below.

If you are a current student looking for internship opportunities for Wintersession, the summer or any other time of year (for school credit and paid positions), be sure to get in touch with RISD Careers.

Always in style and festive attire, our students dressed up in outrageous costumes and dance the night away at this year’s Artist Ball.
Artist Ball took place Friday, November 2nd at the Bank of America City Center at 2 Kennedy Plaza.

The Artist Ball is one of RISD’s oldest and most exciting traditions! Costumes are always highly encouraged, the more elaborate, the better!
This year we featured DJ’s 5am, Crooks Club, Nick Arcidy, and The Get Lively Experience! This event is hosted and supported by RISD’s Center for Student Involvement. Check out these costumes!

The Center for Student Involvement (CSI) provides a structure and support system for students to further their interests outside of the studio and classroom through active involvement in student clubs and organizations, community engagement, athletics, innovative initiatives and much more.

While recruiting in the Norfolk, VA area, I had the great pleasure of visting the Chrysler Museum of Art (CAM). It holds one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of glass in the world, with more than 10,000 glass objects spanning 3,000 years. Naturally, it is a mecca for RISD Glass majors.

Currently, there are 3 RISD alumni working in the Glass Studio at CAM!  Liesl Schubel, Glass ‘12 is a studio assistant, Hannah Kirkpatrick, BFA Glass ’11 is an instructor and Charlotte Potter MFA Glass ’10, oversees and directs the entire studio. I coincidentally, met the CAM President/Director at breakfast during my stay at a local B&B.  He was so proud of our alums and mentioned how its becoming a new “headquarters” for RISD.

The Glass Studio at CAM, RISD Alums working together

Alums working on creating a piece for Pinaree Sanpitak, a Visiting Artist.

Below are two videos with alumni talking about their CAM and RISD experiences.

Charlotte talking about RISD and the Glass Studio

Hannah talking about Glass, RISD and CAM

The museum is going through a 1 1/2 yr. HVAC renovation so much of the collection will be distributed within the community, while it’s close, the Glass Studio will remain open and working. The Glass Studio is devoted to the art of glass. The studio offers free daily demonstrations, as well as supports visiting artists, and provides a Studio Assistantship Program.

The Mix of High-Tech and Ancient

Our Glass Studio is so high-tech the kilns can be controlled by iPhones. It’s as energy-efficient as it can be, with excess heat being recirculated to heat the building, and we recycle all the scrap glass. There’s a closed-circuit TV system that can switch between three cameras to provide the studio audience with closeups projected on big-screen TVs. There are lights and music, and then there are hand tools next to the glassmaker’s bench. Considering all this technology, it’s worth noting a Venetian glassmaker from the 15th Century would be instantly familiar with the jacks and blocks and shears being used today. It might take some time for the time traveler to get used to modern natural gas torches and furnaces, as opposed to the wood-fired practices of his day, but he’d see the same basic techniques of his era being used to this day.

http://www.chrysler.org/about-the-museum/glass-studio/our-studio-team/

RISD graduate continue to excel after their years at RISD; in their new careers and various opportunities. We are proud to hear that recent graduates from Apparel Design have partnered with Urban Outfitters. UO is a large employer of RISD alumni in various majors and provide exciting internship opportunities throughout the year. UO is the parent company to Free People, Anthropologie, BHLDN, and Terrain.

Our three Class of 2012 grads – Emily Shaw 12 AP, Amanda Goss 12 AP and Helen Wu 12 AP –recently teamed up with Urban Outfitters to design “capsule collections.” This month you can find the outcomes of that collaboration on the Urban Outfitters site and at selected UO stores across the country.

The new designs for UO stem from the Apparel Design department’s Private Label Project, which challenges seniors to research and design a collection in line with a specific brand’s aesthetics. “This year’s Private Label Project saw students partnering with Urban Outfitters and working directly with UO’s Director of Concept and Trend Marissa Maximo 95 PT,” notes Apparel Design Department Head Catherine Andreozzi.

The experience was clearly great for students – down to the festive opening during New York’s Fasion Week in early September. And it’s not so bad for anyone out there itching to shop for RISDwear, either! Check out just some of the designs below.

We are very excited to welcome the class of 2016 !

With summer quickly coming to a close we are excited to welcome back all of the students for the start of the fall semester. From Wednesday September 5 – Friday September 7 about 40 freshmen (along with some upperclassmen leaders) will be participating in the first annual RISD Pre-Orientation Service Experience (P.O.S.E.).

The RISD P.O.S.E. Program is a dynamic opportunity that allows members of the incoming freshmen class to move in three days early and participate in a series of unique community service projects, immersion experiences, and leadership activities.

The goals of the P.O.S.E. Program are to help new students engage with the community, develop personally as leaders, and become excited about student life at RISD.  It is our hope that this program will demonstrate to students the importance of becoming active citizens that take on responsibilities in their community through reciprocal partnerships, effective communication, and community leadership.  The participants are extremely engaged, eager to get involved, and could be a valuable asset for your office or department during their college career.

This program is a great chance for incoming freshmen to meet new people, become exposed to Rhode Island, and make a true lasting impact on the local community. The mission of P.O.S.E. is to continue a tradition of service at RISD that will ultimately become integrated into the overall co-curricular culture.

The Rhode Island School of Design Pre-Orientation Service Experience is sponsored by Community Service and the Center for Student Involvement.

One of the most important things to know when you’re on RISD campus is to keep an eye out for something amazing and always have a camera. I was fortunate that I got to see Summer Session Transfer students with a recent project while in the Met.

Professor, Jonathan Bonner, of Foundation Studies class, Spatial Dynamics, asked students to change their identity by creating a new one. Students were allowed to use any materials and decide how they would interpret the challenge.

For example, beneath the bird-like paper mask, the student used wire mesh for structural integrity. Another student used wire armature, then wrapped plaster around to form horns that would then receive a coat of paint and real birch bark. We missed seeing the full costume, but another student wore a full kimono and white makeup to be dressed as a geisha. Her head piece is entirely made of paper!

Check out the gallery to see some of their innovative creations.