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.

Design for Obama, the website/brainchild of Aaron Perry-Zucker ‘09 GD, turned the Obama campaign themes of inclusion and empowerment into an online community where artists up- and downloaded poster designs. The hundreds of submissions (notably “Did The Right Thing,” sent by Don Button days after the election) caught the attention of filmmaker Spike Lee. The result? A book of 200 designs, selected and edited by Aaron and Spike, with an essay by design historian Steven Heller. Published by Taschen, Design for Obama: Posters for Change/A Grassroots Anthology is set for release November 4, 2009, on the year anniversary of President Obama’s historic victory.

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.

RISD has made the list of the country’s top 25 “best neighbor” colleges and universities, which was released yesterday at the annual conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities in Philadelphia. The 25 leading institutions cited in Saviors of Our Cities: A Survey of Best College and University Civic Partnerships were selected based on demonstrated efforts to make a positive impact on their urban communities through activities such as revitalization, economic and urban development, community service and cultural renewal (see this New York Times blog post for more). Penn and UCLA tied for first place, while RISD ranked 20th in the survey, making it the only college in New England and the only art school in the country to rank in the top 25.

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.

This Saturday, as part of RISD by Design weekend, RISD will celebrate the publication of Infinite Radius: Founding Rhode Island School of Design. Conceived and edited by Dean of Architecture + Design Dawn Barrett and Archivist Andy Martinez, Infinite Radius tells the story of RISD’s founding in 1877 through a series of contemporary scholarly essays, along with reproductions of rare archival photographs, historic course catalogues, previously unpublished manuscripts and transcriptions of archival letters, among other interesting ephemera. Graphic Design faculty member Ootje Oxenaar designed the handsome tome and graduate students in Graphic Design helped to produce it. The Saturday event in the Chace Center begins with a 1 pm panel discussion in the Metcalf Auditorium, followed by a book signing with the authors and designers between 2:15 and 3 in the Chace Center lobby. And even if you can’t be there to pick up a signed copy, the book is available on site and online at risd|works and the risd:store.

Yesterday I spoke at the annual Executive Women’s Leadership conference at Reebok by the invitation of Brown grad Sarah Stuart on my favorite topic of “Creative Leadership.” There I had the chance to meet Trish Karter who is the CEO of one of my favorite sources of cookies (no kidding). Ms. Karter began her life as a studio artist that later discovered how to channel her ability to “think in leaps” as a successful industry consultant, went back to the purity of painting and established that career, and then came back as an entrepreneur running an inspired enterprise as a classic creative leader.

In my many encounters with creative leaders around the world that channel the power of art-thinking and design-thinking, I am convinced we live in a new, exciting time of opportunity for the world of art and design. It’s just begun. -JM

Fans of The Jay Leno Show have no doubt noticed the show’s title and motion graphics that incorporate photos from Leno’s past. It’s all the work of wut it is, the film and broadcast design/production company co-founded by Pete Conlon ‘95 FAV, who designed and art directed the project. Check out the wut it is blog, where Pete takes readers through the design process. Pete and his studio also created the opening titles for Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on Showtime.

Earlier this week, over 150 New York alumni of all ages met for a RISD After Work networking event.  If you’ve never been to one of these, keep your eye on the alumni calendar of events  for one in your area. It’s always great to hear about the strange and wonderful  things that RISD alumni are up to, and it’s a wonderful way to make new connections.

Alumni tossed their business cards into a bowl for a chance at a free ipod shuffle.  Gregory Mastrianni ‘84 GD was the lucky winner!