Sustainability and the natural world

These are additional resources we’ve found useful to engage in dialogue and to provide information around environmental and climate issues, impacts and actions.

Traditional museum practice has a gigantic carbon footprint. How is the RISD Museum changing its own practices in response to the climate emergency?

How does a landscape painting made in 1828 by English-American artist Thomas Cole both reinforce and intervene in settler-colonial ideas about the environment and Native American people?

The history of the Gorham Manufacturing Company is intertwined with that of Providence and Rhode Island. This uniquely local story has provided the opportunity for the RISD Museum to learn from the experiences of community members who have intersected with Gorham's legacy.

This salad spoon and fork set, made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company ca. 1885, is named after the coastal town of Narragansett, Rhode Island. Replete with intricately detailed shells, seaweed, and sea creatures—including small fish and tiny crabs—these two sea-encrusted utensils were my point of inspiration for a set of five brooches. In the following article I will describe some of the basic processes used to create my Narragansett-inspired jewelry

RISD Museum conservator Ingrid Neuman discusses the challenges in caring for objects made from this ubiquitous material

Isabella McCormick (Brown/RISD 2015) explores the intricacies of the Gorham Narragansett Salad Set and their reflections on Rhode Island culture, insights gained from her meticulous cleaning of the utensils as part of her Mellon Summer Internship in conservation.