RISD

From live-action shorts exploring farming and Japanese arts to hand-drawn, stop-motion, and cut-out animations, the films in this year’s Film/Animation/Video Senior Show draw viewers in with compelling stories: risd.edu/news/stories/f…

In the latest episode of “It Starts with a Question,” Oscar and Tony award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden and President Crystal Williams share how an appreciation for the simple beauty of nature inspires them in life: youtube.com/watch?v=eMSdBF…

Global theme park retail merchandiser Sol Armada de la Cruz, who earned her BFA from RISD in 1992, reflects on her years at RISD and the importance of having fun in one’s career. risd.edu/news/stories/l…

Interdisciplinary Sculpture course "Metal and Performance" introduces students to the concept of “performance thinking” via steel objects fabricated in the Sculpture department’s foundry risd.edu/news/stories/s…

President Crystal Williams recently lead a passionate online conversation with activists and artists Tracie Ching, alum Shepard Fairey, Dread Scott, and Yana Buhrer Tavanier: risd.edu/news/stories/a…

Seven of the 30 artists commissioned for the
 Obama Presidential Center in Chicago have RISD ties. Read more via @nytimes nytimes.com/2026/05/01/art…

The Obama Presidential Center will feature monumental works by faculty member Tyanna J. Buie and alums Julie Mehretu, Jenny Holzer, and Spencer Finch as well as honorary degree recipients María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Theaster Gates Jr., and Nick Cave risd.edu/news/stories/r…

Painting junior Khalil McKnight is the RISD Museum 2026 Dorner Prize winner for his performance "The Observer," which critically examines institutional access and the relationship of Black and Brown bodies to museum spaces risd.edu/news/stories/p…

Students in a spring Painting course taught by José de Jesus Rodriguez are exploring the centuries-old tradition of fresco painting. Working together they're creating a large-scale piece in RISD’s College Building risd.edu/news/stories/r…

The Fleet Library was recently bustling with book lovers and other print enthusiasts for the 10th annual RISD UNBOUND book fair. The event celebrates artists’ books, zines, and experimental printed matter created by makers from across the region risd.edu/news/stories/t…

A critique-based Photography course encourages students to verbalize their creative goals and approaches to the medium while allowing themselves to play with new ideas risd.edu/news/stories/p…

Using the East River area of Pawtucket as a template, Interior Architecture & Landscape Architecture students are mapping the forces that have shaped the neighborhood over time and reenvisioning it to serve as a community-oriented hub for local residents risd.edu/news/stories/r…

At this year’s Design Portfolio Review, 180 design professionals representing more than 80 companies, firms, and design studios participated in online reviews and on-campus visits: risd.edu/news/stories/w…

Wael Morcos, 2013 graduate of the MFA program in Graphic Design, heads up Brooklyn-based design studio Morcos Key alongside his partner in business and life, Graphic Design alum Jonathan Key: risd.edu/news/stories/l…

Join us for a Zoom panel discussion called "A Conversation with Activist Artists" on Monday, April 27, 7–8:30 pm EDT with Tracie Ching, Shepard Fairey, Dread Scott, and Yana Buhrer Tavanier, moderated by RISD President Crystal Williams. Register: bit.ly/41lYPjD

In the latest episode of “It Starts with a Question,” award-winning designer and alum David Weeks and President Crystal Williams sit down to discuss family influences, curiosity, creative outlets, and joy: youtube.com/watch?v=OX6pKQ…

Julie Mehretu MFA 97 PR/PT will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Commencement. Mehretu, along with cartoonist Roz Chast 77 PT, arts advocate Stephen A. Metcalf, and designer David Wiseman 03 FD will receive honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees risd.edu/commencement

RISD is celebrating a historic $20 million gift—the largest outright gift in RISD’s history—from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation to establish the Maxwell Scholarship Fund and the Maxwell Global Perspectives Faculty Fund: risd.edu/news/for-press…

Area teachers are developing creative ways to bring Rhode Island’s diverse civic and cultural heritage into the classroom through "Rhode Island Histories in Action," a new federally funded initiative offered through RISD’s Center for Community Partnerships risd.edu/news/stories/r…

Alum Spencer Finch recently returned to campus as part of the Glass department’s Hot Nights lecture series. Finch discussed the ideas behind some of his recent pieces followed by a night in the hot shop collaborating with students and faculty members risd.edu/news/stories/a…