Re

This two-part program series presents work by student artists in a wide range of modes and media—visual, text-based, performance, video, and more—informed by visual or conceptual patterns at play in the museum. 

A pattern is a repeated decorative design, a set of instructions or guidelines used in order to make something (think sewing pattern), the regular way something happens or is done (a pattern of behavior), frequent or widespread incidence (a pattern of dissent). In the museum context, specifically, a pattern might appear on works in the collection, patterns of collecting and display, or even the choreographic patterns of viewers. Through their repetition, patterns reflect collective histories, echo across generations, and offer models for new ways of doing. How can we re-pattern the museum, revising its history to create new futures?

The artists featured in this Thursday’s event are:

Amadi Williams (RISD BFA ‘25, Painting), distributing silhouettes throughout the museum to draw attention to work by Black female artists in the collection and guiding visitors to experience the museum in a new way.

Isabella Choi, Richard Shi, and Jessica Song (RISD BFA ‘25, Illustration, Film/Animation/Video, Furniture Design), inviting visitors to hear their own voice re-patterned through a technologically advanced music box, reflecting on the role of language as a visual and auditory pattern in a system of understanding.

Joshua Koolik (Brown BA ‘24, Visual Art / Modern Culture and Media), presenting a video work assembled from collaborative photographs and written responses by visitors in the museum.