Using the museum from home

Virtual connections to the museum for college students and faculty

The RISD Museum is committed to continued curricular support through engagement with museum collections during the period of COVID-19's impact. If you had planned to visit the museum this semester to explore the galleries with your class, see objects not on view, or engage in dialogue with museum staff, we are excited to work with you to translate these experiences to a digital platform.

Virtual Class Visits

Our academic programs and curatorial staff look forward to working with you to develop plans for virtual classroom connections. 

  • Faculty can access images and information on works in the collection on the RISD Museum's site. Supplement your object lesson with a creative prompt, an independent assignment, or a virtual visit over Zoom with museum staff. We have reached out to all faculty with existing facilitated visit reservations to collaborate on translating these experiences to a virtual format. If you planned to visit self-guided or had not yet booked a visit, please email museum-academic@risd.edu to discuss your needs and request an experience. 

  • If you planned to visit Raid the Icebox Now this semester, you can engage with the exhibitions through online exhibition pages and the digital publication. Artists Pablo Bronstein, Nicole Eisenman, Pablo Helguera, Beth Katleman, Simone Leigh, Sebastian Ruth, Paul Scott, and Triple Canopy have created new bodies of work that use the museum as a site for critical creative production. Developed in response to each of the artists, the publication features new writings and multimedia projects.

  • For an overview of resources and suggested formats for digital engagement with the collection watch this virtual faculty workshop. Also, watch Curatorial Fellow Conor Moynihan explain one potential format for a virtual visit. 

Virtual Open Hours and Office Hours

The staff of our Costume & Textiles and Prints, Drawings, & Photographs study centers are transitioning their weekly open hours to a virtual format, and staff from conservation, education, installation, and other curatorial departments are now also offering weekly office hours. Students are welcome to schedule half-hour Zoom meetings to learn more about museum practice and to view and discuss of objects in the collection to support their research and inspire their creative practice. 

  • Costume & Textiles: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Prints, Drawings & Photographs: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Asian Art: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Ancient Art: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Contemporary Art: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Decorative Arts & Design: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Painting & Sculpture: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Conservation: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Education: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

  • Preparation & Installation: learn more and request a one-on-one Zoom meeting here

Existing Digital Content and Additional Resources