Upon interacting with a few students yesterday, I was reminded of a life-changing episode that happened to me two years ago while at MIT which I entitled, Perspective, or Porsche. It was through that awakening experience that I learned the importance of listening to the truth that can only come from a student’s perspective and saying it like it is.

At institutions of higher education, we pride ourselves in our ability to engender the power of free speech – and I find this especially so in our young artists and designers here at RISD. At the same time, I continue to be humbled by the inverse of the act of free speech … which would be called “free listening.” Listening is no different than the artist’s skill to see, and I see that at RISD the skill of listening is developed through the extensive critical thinking exercises that every student here undergoes.

There are so many ways to learn from the environment that surrounds ourselves. I think back to the facilities person I spoke with last November that turned my mind. And to the faculty I engage here at RISD, and sometimes Brown as well. Or even the random people that I may encounter on the street. To see, is to learn. To hear, is to learn. And to feel, is to learn … deeply.

I now go back to my ongoing task of listening to RISD. Listen. -JM