Keith Campbell BARCH ‘78 hosted a reception for President Maeda at RTKL Architects in Chicago last night.  It had been some time since the Chicago alumni had gotten together, and the air was full of the energy created by alumni and parents connecting with each other. The President shared some of his thoughts about his paths of discovery as he looks to articulate RISD’s core beliefs, and his experiences meeting new alumni, many of whom do not fit into traditional molds - words that resonated with many of the alumni in attendance, among them an artist residency administrator, a painter and fashion designer who teach in an after school arts program, and an architect turned architectural photographer. Proof that a RISD education allows for endless possibilities!

Photos by John Weinstein ‘78 PH

Partly Sunny, an environmentally focused design showcase originally conceived and produced by 125 RISD students for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, is being exhibited today through Sunday as part of Bioneers by the Bay, an international gathering of environmental, industry and social justice innovators focused on saving the planet. Yesterday’s excellent Design Observer review of the showcase pointed out that “as a body of work, Partly Sunny invites a reading that is greater than the sum of its projects.” The entire initiative – involving five departments at RISD – was a huge undertaking led by Associate Professor Charlie Cannon, who will be running a workshop at Bioneers tomorrow, along with student designers who worked on the project. Even if you’re not attending Bioneers, you can visit the exhibition through Sunday at UMASS Dartmouth’s Crapo Gallery.

Foundation Studies is bringing brilliant author and critic Jed Perl to campus this week for a public lecture exploring the paradoxical nature of the artistic experience and “the place of elite culture in a democratic society,” as Perl himself puts it. Well known for his insightful columns in The New Republic, Vogue, Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly and lots of other thought-provoking magazines, Perl has also written five amazing books about art and artists. He’s currently working on a biography of Alexander Calder and in 2005 his book New Art City: Manhattan at Mid-Century drew rave reviews from the country’s leading thinkers and earned Atlantic Monthly’s Best Book of the Year. Perl will speak about Authority and Freedom: Reflections on Artistic Experience and Liberal Society at 7 pm on Thursday, October 22 in the RISD Auditorium.

If you’re thinking about going green with your own career, you may want to check out Design, Industry + Careers in the Age of Sustainability, a symposium/topical discussion hosted by RISD|CE on Thursday, October 22, from 7-9pm. Charlie Cannon, associate professor of Industrial Design and co-founder of RISD’s popular Innovation Studio, will moderate and be joined by fellow thought-leaders Matt Grigsby ’05 ID, CEO and co-founder of Ecolect, Dawn Oliveira, co-founder of Oliveira Textiles (environmentally friendly fabrics for the home) and Meaghan O’Neill, writer/editor for TreeHugger.com and co-author of Ready, Set, Green. CE promises that the symposium will help you learn which actions, materials and processes make the biggest eco-impact in the home and workplace, how to express your creativity while “doing the right thing,” and maybe most importantly, how to inspire others with your own enthusiasm for positive change. Tuition is $25 and you need to pre-register by completing a downloadable registration form.

Jared Miller, the founder of a “people-inspired fashion company” that helps emerging businesswomen and artisans in Africa, will visit RISD this Friday, October 16. He’ll talk about the philosophy behind KEZA (the company’s name means “beautiful” in Kinyarwanda, the language of the land), and discuss volunteer and internship opportunities like the one Jenny Lai ’10 AP and Lindsay Perkins ’10 AP did in Rwanda over the summer.

Building on their initial contact with KEZA last Wintersession, when the two Apparel Design majors worked here at RISD to improve designs for paper bead necklaces, Jenny and Lindsay spent the summer in Africa working on product design and development, teaching the women of Buranga to create new types of products, and offering ideas for store displays, marketing and ad campaigns. This semester they’re doing an independent study project with Jewelry + Metalsmithing faculty member Johan van Aswegen to learn more about jewelry technique and design that might be helpful in working with the female artisans who produce work for KEZA.

“I had been looking for a way to help others through my passion for design and the arts, so I am incredibly excited to have found KEZA,” Jenny says. Lindsay adds that her experiences travelling and growing up in Hong Kong and Taiwan opened her eyes “to much need in the world” and left her with “a desire to help in whatever ways I can.” The entire RISD community is invited to Friday’s 8 pm presentation at the Fleet Library at RISD, where Jared will show the work that’s helping African women to help themselves get ahead.

Little Eva said it in the song: A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul. And that’s what Mark Moscone ‘88 PR, Director of Campus Exhibitions, and his assistant Gunnar Norquist, brought to ALCO (American Locomotive Works) for a reception with President Maeda on Thursday. Mark and Gunnar transformed the undeveloped space with recent work by Hugh Zeigler ‘09 PT, Allison Roberts, MFA ‘09 PR, Greg O’Malley ‘09 PT, Joseph Segal MFA ‘09 TX, Michael Green MFA ‘09 FD, Martin Smick MFA ‘09 PT, and Luke O’Sullivan MFA ‘09 PR, demonstrating that drive and creative energy so unique to RISD. Area alumni, Museum members, and parents turned out to meet President Maeda, hear his thoughts and reflections on his first year at RISD, and ask provocative questions about the future of art + design.

The 2009 Scholarship Luncheon was held this past Friday, April 17th at the President’s house. Not only was it an idyllic spring day, but we broke the record with over 90 scholarship supporters, student recipients, faculty and staff in attendance.

The event inspired a true sense of the RISD community, bringing together alumni, students, advocates of the RISD mission, and our own faculty and staff members. President Maeda put it best when he recognized those in attendance and stated the reason they came to be a part of the day, because they are a “sister, brother, daughter, son, wife, mother, father, student of a late or living faculty member or graduate. An active artist or designer alumnus, or a parent of a current student here at RISD. A local or global corporation and/or a foundation that believes in the RISD cause. What binds you all together is that you are here to remember and recognize someone or ones, and that special relation they had or have with our RISD. And you want to keep RISD going strong, and I thank you for your passion for our shared cause.”

Provost Jessie Shefrin emphasized the true opportunities that RISD allows students and her point was exemplified by the honest and passionate words of Todd Austin ‘10 AR and Frank Cresencia ‘10 FD. The two students both expressed their sincere gratitude to those in the room, noting that they would not be at RISD today if it wasn’t for support from people like them. President Maeda asked all of the students to put their hand on the shoulder of a scholarship supporter and let their philanthropy “rub-off” on them, and to consider that maybe one day they too would give back to the place that encouraged and nurtured them.

Thank you to everyone who attended and who made the day so extraordinary, and a special thank you to each student who attended, you all truly enhanced the event and allowed everyone a glimpse into why we do what we do.

Looking forward to next year!

Mad scientist Dr. Tremendanus, an expert on intergalactic species, hosts this year’s one-night stand of the Creature Creation Show at the RISD Auditorium this Saturday, February 28 at 8pm. A surreal sci-fi fusion of music, performance art and video projections, the show features an invasion of newly “discovered” creature/characters created by 15 students in the popular Creature-Creation Wintersession class taught by Erminio Pinque ’83 IL. Professional musicians and performers from the BIG NAZO LAB and the local arts community round out the picture, which promises to be quirky, colorful and entertaining. And get this: it’s free.

You’ll want to be in the auditorium next Tuesday when Jim Drain ‘98 SC talks about his widely varied career and experiences. Jim was a member of the former art collective Forcefield, which was featured in the Whitney Biennial in 2002.  He also won the Baloise Art Prize at the 2005 Art Basel show in Switzerland.  He paints, draws and creates installations, collages, furniture, stained glass, silkscreen, performance art, mail art, book art, comics and video - a brilliant craftsman who is comfortable working in a multiplicity of forms. He is currently represented by the Greene Naftali gallery in New York.

Jim is speaking as part of our RISD Alumni Lecture Series on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, at 6:30 pm in the RISD Auditorium. This event is free and open to all.

I first met Banks Griffin ‘01 FAV in New York while working on the RISD Athena Awards, and found his easy, confident manner to be incredibly reassuring during an intense, chaotic time.  Banks is a film maker, now living and working in Brooklyn, and I was thrilled to learn that he has had his short film, GAUGE, selected for viewing as part of the New York Film Festival.   The film will screen on Oct.11 at the Ziegfeld Theater, more info here.  Kudos to Banks!