The Museum Guild is a group of undergraduate students from local colleges and universities. Supported by the museum’s Academic Programs staff, they develop self-directed projects and programs that facilitate the engagement of college communities within and beyond the greater Providence area. They aim to share entry points for new audiences, be responsive to their interests, and stimulate thought-provoking and personal interactions. Through this work, the Guild hopes to expand critical dialogue around the collection, purpose, and future of the RISD Museum.
The Guild opens applications at the start of each academic year. Contact museum-academic@risd.edu with questions.
This year's group
Meet the 2022-23 Museum Guild! Follow along at @risdmuseumguild on Instagram.

Not pictured: Laurie Tamayo
Past projects and programs
In 2016-2017, the Museum Guild shifted to primarily focus on developing responsive programming that sparked engagement between local college communities and the Museum. The Museum Guild presented a selection of student artist-scholars whose work and performances responded to or challenged the collection of European paintings on view in Intermission, an open-storage presentation organized while the European galleries were under construction. Museum visitors engaged with the students and their work, collaboratively and critically examining what was present and what was missing from the exhibition, staging a temporary "Anti-Salon." The Guild also invited local students to participate in Work in Process programs throughout the year, sharing their ongoing projects and artwork with museum visitors throughout the galleries.
The Museum Guild was born in 2015-2016, when the museum reimagined its academic-year student group and tasked each member with facilitating and creating at least one public program of their own design. In preparation, Guild members were trained in object-based learning and supported in developing research and public-speaking skills. Guild members facilitated public tours, discussions, and other programs related to the Museum’s collection.