The handmade object has a tendency to prompt memories from the craftsperson who made it. In this reflection on an embroidered purse from the 1970s, Ariel Wills and Kate Irvin are joined by maker Christina Bevilacqua for a dynamic conversation that demonstrates the narrative qualities embodied in material culture.
As the world bears witness to the recent tragedies of George Floyd’s death, the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless numbers of Black people before them, it’s difficult to feel like I have anything new to say on a subject that I should meet with respectful listening, but as the director of this institution it is my job to lead both in words and in deeds.
A student in a RISD course on pan-African aesthetics contemplates a vinyl record pictured in a Sanlé Sory photograph in the collection, and imagines the songs it contains.
Faculty member Rosa Weinberg reflects on the relevancy of art analysis as a starting point for exploring form in design and as a powerful habit of mind for beginning designers.
In 1971, a group of radical students in Providence produced stirring silkscreen posters. Their images contributed to the vibrant visual culture of antiwar protest.
Curatorial intern Grace Xiao reflects on viewing artwork that embraces instability, disruption, and restlessness, making room for open interpretations in the gallery.
Students in Mariela Yeregui's Decolonial E-Textiles class create radical, critical, situated, and anticolonial projects that combine textile techniques with simple and low-tech electronic mechanisms.
Exploring the process and context behind "School House Long House", a new work created by Providence/Newport artists Jed Hancock-Brainerd, Rebecca Noon, and Jeremy Radtke.
Robert Emlen, curator at Brown University, and furniture designer, Timothy Philbrick examine the craftsmanship, features, and significance of the Goddard/Townsend desk and bookcase.
This rare example of Gorham's "Mythologique" flatware service was purposefully left unfinished as they are samples, combining elaborate hand-worked detail with mechanized brute force.
Pixilation Party!, or how, with the help of dozens of RISD Museum visitors, Providence artist Xander Marro recently created one minute of black and white magic.
"Raid the Database with Heather Leigh McPherson" is the third installment in an ongoing project in which artists bring new curatorial perspectives to the museum's extensive collections.
Albert Bierstadt was born in Solingen, Germany, but came to the United States with his family in 1832 and settled with them in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
