Artists in Dialogue

Artists Renée Elizabeth Neely-TANNER and Bob Dilworth will share an ongoing conversation on topics such as creativity, production, archives, and legacy. Typically private, this dialogue will demonstrate the mutual support artists can prioritize with peers as a way to nourish their creative practice and provide encouragement during challenging times.

Free. Registration requested for this in-person program.
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Renée Elizabeth Neely-Tanner is a self-taught visual artist. She is a 2024 Artist Research Resident at the Museum of Art at The Rhode Island School of Design. Neely-Tanner grew up in the 1960-70s Black community of Berkeley, across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk, VA. The culture and kinship of that experience has shaped her worldview as an artist and as a person. She honors her mother Allison Virginia Tanner Neely, an ever present witness to her life and work, by adding 'Tanner' to her name.
In April 2024 The Leadership Alliance, Brown University honored Neely-Tanner at its Presidential Forum held at The Kennedy Center. Her painting Glory was commissioned to visually celebrate the achievements of 1000 Doctoral Scholars.

Exhibitions: The Project Space Gallery/AS220, Providence; The Rhode Island School of Design; The Granoff Center for Creative Arts, Brown University; Centro Cultural das Mulheres da Mare Bahia, Brasil; The Ruth J. Simmons Center, Brown University; Arts Connect International, Boston; StudioHop Gallery, Providence; Providence Public Library; and The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University.
Neely-Tanner holds an AB in English Literature and Cultures, Brown University and an MLIS in Library and Information Science/Archives Management, Simmons University.

Nationally and internationally recognized and exhibited, Bob Dilworth is the recipient of the 2024 Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts, Providence RI. Dilworth’s textile works and works on canvas and paper have won many awards, including the recipient of the 2023-2025 General Operating Support for Artists Grant from the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts and the 2014 Rhode Island State Council for the Arts Fellowship in painting, as well as grants from the Rhode Island Foundation, University of Rhode Island Center for the Humanities, the University of Rhode Island Council for Research, the National John Biggers Award in drawing, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

His work has also won fellowships from the following artist residencies: Iris Project Artist Residency Program in LA, California; Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts in Saratoga, Wyoming; Angels Gate Cultural Center in association with Marymount California University in San Pedro, CA; Playa Artist Residency in Summer Lake, OR; Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snow Mass, CO; Hambidge Creative Center for the Arts and Science in Rabun Gap, GA; the Klaus Center for the Arts, San Pedro, CA; Contemporary Artist Center in North Adams, MA; the African American Master Artist in Residence Program (AAMARP), Northeastern University in Boston, MA; and Le Cite International des Artes, Artist Residency, Paris, France.  His work is included in corporate and private collections including the Smithsonian Institution, RISD Museum, the Newport Art Museum, the Fitchburg Art Museum, Ethan Cohen Galleries, NY, The Chicago Public Libraries and other public institutions.
Dilworth earned a Masters of Fine Art Degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Bachelors of Fine Art Degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has taught art and design at colleges and universities throughout the country, including; Princeton University, Brown University, Columbia College in Chicago and Saint Paul’s College in Virginia.  He is Professor Emeritus, Department of Art & Art History at the University of Rhode Island, where he taught for 28.5 years. Between 2010 and 2013 he served as chair of that department. From 2014-2018, Dilworth served as Director of the URI Main Art Gallery where he curated academic-centered exhibitions by local, regional and national artists. He was Chair of Africana Studies at URI from 2018–2020 and retired from the University in the spring of 2020.
He served on the Board of Trustees at the Newport Art Museum (2017-20) and on the Board of Directors at the Jamestown Art Center (2021-2024). Currently he serves on the Board of the Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading Group and is chair of the Providence Art in City Life Commission. Dilworth lives in Providence where he works as a full-time visual artist, represented by Cade Tompkins Projects.