Rose B. Simpson (RISD, MFA CER 2011) delivers this year's address. She is best known for internationally exhibited ceramic figurative sculptures that range in scale from intimate to monumental and variously consider complex emotional and psychological states, spirituality, women’s empowerment, and post-apocalyptic visions of the world. Simpson’s use of clay in particular is deeply informed by matrilineal cultural traditions that she imbues with a distinctly contemporary style and sensibility.