RISD Momentum Fall 2023 by Rhode Island School of Design

M U T N E M MO BUILDING RISD’S FUTURE, TOGETHER

FALL 2023

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Connected Community The fall season presents a range of sensory delights: cider doughnuts, hayrides and haunted houses, roaring fires and many traditions that call us to gather with friends over food and good cheer. At RISD, fall also means back to school and reconnecting with our community. I always find it a time of great rejuvenation, innovation and excitement. It is lovely to be on campus experiencing the infectious energy of new students (and their parents) and returning students, staff and faculty. Excitement abounds. And possibility takes root in the form of new friends, new skills, new learnings and life lessons, and new opportunities to make lasting memories and connections. This year, we are especially focused on how we intentionally co-create and continually foster a strong, vibrant, inclusive community. RISD is a place of great complexity. Students from all over the world come to RISD to study and learn together with and from exceptional faculty and talented peers. Our student community hails from 60 countries, representing six of the world’s seven continents. Our youngest degree-seeking student is 16, and our oldest is 54. Our incoming class speaks 34 different languages, and many of those students speak multiple languages. Community members identify across many races, ethnicities, genders, sexual identities and expressions, learning styles, abilities, faith traditions, political persuasions, and more. With such a richly diverse community of students, staff and faculty, we must intentionally approach the creation and fostering of community. Our goal is to ensure that RISD is a place where everyone feels they belong, and everyone feels that not only do they have an opportunity to thrive, but we are all here to ensure that they do.

And, although alumni are no longer regularly in residence on campus, their presence from afar is a crucial component of the RISD community. Many alumni express their enthusiasm and passion for our institution through active engagement with other alumni in cities across the globe or with current students through mentorship, the creation of internship or fellowship programs, or through their critical support of RISD scholarships and student support funds. Each of these ways of engaging helps support a vibrant, thriving community and helps ensure that RISD continues to be an institution that provides an unparalleled setting for the study of art and design. I hope the stories herein give you deeper insight into what continues to make RISD such a special place, a place of abiding community. No matter where you are in your RISD journey, I hope you are inspired to continue learning, growing and giving back.

Crystal Williams President, Rhode Island School of Design

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

Momentum FALL 2023 CONNECTED COMMUNITY

Letter from President Crystal Williams

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT AT RISD The Institutional Advancement division is dedicated to advancing RISD’s mission by fostering lifelong

HERE AND NOW

CELEBRATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS

Bringing together donors and students for a night of connection and recognition MAKE IT HUMAN

With a new scholarship fund, Tony Ingrao 81 AR aims to train the next generation of RISD creatives. POP ART

A gift from the estate of an alumna to the RISD Fund provides support for an orientation program for first-generation college students. YOU BELONG HERE

relationships with alumni, parents, friends and organizations to strengthen goodwill and philanthropy.

Through the RISD Scholars program, a community of donors makes financial aid immediately available to RISD students.

PHONE 401 454-6403 toll-free: 844 454-1877 EMAIL

giving@risd.edu

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alumni.risd.edu

families.risd.edu

risd.edu/giving

risdnetwork.risd.edu

risdmuseum.org

SOCIAL instagram.com/risdalumni facebook.com/risd.alumni.relations instagram.com/risdmuseum facebook.com/risdmuseum

Volunteer museum educators connect the RISD Museum with the community.

DEMYSTIFYING RISD FOR FAMILIES

The new chair of the Families Association Leadership Council hopes families will get excited about their students’ journeys in art and design. ALL TOGETHER FOR ALUMNI

unless otherwise noted. Design by Studio Rainwater

Jon Key 13 GD and Jarrett Key MFA 20 PT champion fellow RISD graduates through service. A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES

A scholarship helps Eleanna Feldman 25 JM find the community that drives and inspires her. FELLOWSHIP OF IDEAS

Members of the Society of Presidential Fellows push their disciplines forward. FOND FAREWELL

Letter from the Vice President of Institutional Advancement O'Neil Outar OUR DONORS

Photos by Jo Sittenfeld MFA 08 PH

Printed on FSC-certified paper stock made with 30% post-consumer waste and manufactured with renewable biogas energy.

12 POP ART

MAKE IT HUMAN

07 CELEBRATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS

Here and Now

Through the RISD Scholars program, a community of donors makes financial aid immediately available to RISD students.

In 2012, a group of RISD alumni, families and friends joined forces to provide direct, immediate financial aid for undergraduate students in a novel way—through significant multi-year commitments that offset a particular student’s tuition over the course of their college career. At RISD, financial aid comes from a variety of sources, including income from the endowment, the operating budget and gifts to the RISD Fund by alumni, families, foundations and corporations. The RISD Scholars program is distinct because support comes at a predictable level over three or more years and is made available as soon as it is received. In the 11 years since the RISD Scholars program began, the initiative has supported a generation of RISD undergraduate students, helping them put aside financial concerns and focus on their creative development. Many generous donors participate in the program, making commitments of $30,000 or more paid over three or more years. In doing so, they become members of RISD’s 1877 Society and Centennial Society. Supporters learn about RISD Scholars as the students move through their academic careers, and when possible, gather with RISD Scholars for the annual Celebration of Scholarships in the spring. On these pages, we hear from a few of those who have made giving to the RISD Scholars program a priority.

Jessica Arner P 11 and Eli Abbe P 11

Jessica Arner P 11 and Eli Abbe P 11 of Palo Alto, California, were the first donors to make a multi-year commitment to the RISD Scholars program. “I think artists are a part of our society that society as a whole neglects,” Arner says. “The arts aren’t supported enough by the government, by private funders and others, so if we can support arts education and help develop artists and artisans by the same token, we are happy to.” When their daughter Rebecca Abbe 11 GD was an undergraduate at RISD, Abbe and Arner were members of the RISD Parents Council, now called the Families Association Leadership Council. As they got to know RISD families and students, they noticed that it seemed many students were from families who could afford to pay the RISD tuition, but others struggled to juggle tuition costs, materials and living expenses. Arner had also volunteered, through the Admissions Office, to talk on the phone with accepted prospective students from southern California

about what to expect at RISD. While some were curious about navigating cold temperatures and snowy winters, many were deeply concerned about affordability, an issue that drove some to consider a different school. “So then they wouldn’t be getting the excellent RISD education,” Arner said. “They’d be going elsewhere. And let’s face it, you have a less diverse class when you have a largely privileged or wealthy student body.” Arner, a lawyer, says of giving to the RISD Scholars program, “We did it at a time when both of our kids were through college and we were done paying their tuitions. We were still in our working years, and Eli makes the analogy that it’s just like paying another year or two of tuition.” “It’s a point that I would try to make to other parents when their children are graduating,” Abbe, a software and electronics engineer, says. “We were already in the habit of paying tuition, and it can help a student— a known person whom you hear from—immediately.” In addition to their support of the RISD Scholars program, Abbe and Arner joined the Jesse + Helen Rowe Metcalf Society by making a bequest to the RISD Fund, which supports financial aid, immediate needs and priorities, tools for teaching and learning and social justice and equity. Of their giving, Abbe says, “To put it in simple terms, our daughter had a great experience at RISD and it benefited her in so many ways. We wanted to help make that available to other people who couldn’t otherwise afford it. We just wanted to do this as our way of giving back and supporting people outside our family.”

Stephen Dynia BArch 83

When Stephen Dynia BArch 83 was 14, he was chosen via a lottery system to enroll in an alternative high school in his hometown of New Haven, Connecticut. In addition to receiving gym credits for walking to school (which was held in the basement of a girdle factory called Smoothies Foundation Garments), the school offered a program called the Community Orientation Program, where students would visit the offices of professionals in the community. Twice a week, Dynia went to an architect’s office where he learned all about the profession. “So that was the first real interest that I had,” says Dynia, who is now the founder and design director of Dynia Architects, with offices in Jackson Hole, Denver, New York City and San Francisco, as well as a lecturer in the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado, Denver. After high school, Dynia was admitted to RISD’s Architecture program, but was advised not to enroll if he could not afford tuition. Just before

“To put it in simple terms, our daughter had a great experience at RISD and it benefited her in so many ways. We wanted to help make that available to other people who couldn’t otherwise afford it.” MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

“Somehow, RISD found this money to give me . . . To give back is not an obligation I feel, it’s a desire.” Marcus Everard P 21

Dynia was about to start classes at tuition-free Cooper Union, he got a call from RISD offering him a full-tuition scholarship. Although he already had an apartment and roommates lined up in New York City, Dynia chose to attend RISD, his first choice, “for many reasons,” he says. He was persuaded by his conversations with Friedrich St. Florian, the Architecture dean at the time, that the program would give him the freedom to explore his ideas. Dynia was drawn to the industrious environment in RISD studios, which were open until 2:30 am and he was interested in studying architecture at an art school. That, he says now, has been extremely important to his career. “To be able to draw the human figure with ease and fluidity is an amazing tool in architecture. It has translated into being able to do a sketch of a room and have it be relatively accurate just by the handeye relationship,” Dynia says. “What architecture is about is seeing something in your head that doesn’t exist yet. I think that my ability to properly proportion spaces comes from that art school education.” Since graduating from the Architecture program, Dynia has made giving back to RISD a priority, through both the RISD Fund and the RISD Scholars program. Discussing his motivation for giving to financial aid, he says, “Somehow, RISD found this money to give me . . . To give back is not an obligation I feel, it’s a desire.”

It was a telephone call from a RISD undergraduate student that first prompted Marcus Everard P 21 and Mimi Yashiro P 21 to make a gift to the RISD Fund. The couple, who live in Tokyo, give widely to charity, but grew up in cultures where public funding plays a greater role in higher education than private philanthropy does. “Where we come from—I’m British, my wife’s Japanese—we don’t really have the same sort of culture. I give a little bit of money to my old university, and they’re very surprised I do so because nobody else does, but I like them and they can use it for a good cause,” Everard says. Everard and Yashiro became acquainted with RISD when their son Shingo Everard 21 TX was pursuing his dual degree at RISD and Brown. Shingo’s studies at Brown focused on comparative literature, and he studied first Painting and then Textiles at RISD. Now, he is building a career in fashion in New York City. After Shingo graduated, Everard, an investment advisor, and Yashiro made a four-year commitment to the RISD Scholars program. The couple made the gift after consulting with a RISD philanthropy officer about where their support could best be used. The couple appreciated the RISD Scholars program’s emphasis on making financial aid immediately available, in the here and now, to current undergraduate students. “If we can help, I’m very much happy to do so,” Everard says. “Education is really important and I think RISD does a really good job.”

All photos courtesy of subjects pictured

CELEBRATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS 2023

RISD’s annual Celebration of Scholarships event, held in May, brought together donors and students for a night of connection and recognition. Scholarship donor Rafael de Cárdenas 96 AP hosted the event and students Zaineb Aljumayaat 25 IL and Adrian Pelliccia MArch 24 gave remarks and shared their work. Prior to the evening’s celebration, Leslie Ponce-Díaz BArch 23 and nonprofit organization What Cheer Flower Farm led guests through a workshop on arranging flowers. Amy Sabpisa 24 ID provided music for the evening on her keyboard. President Crystal Williams thanked donors for their commitment to RISD and its students, noting that philanthropy accounted for nearly $31 million in financial aid in the last five years. “Such generosity speaks to our shared values of creating environments where students are able to access the necessary tools and skills that help them ask questions and generate solutions to engage more effectively in a rapidly changing world,” she said. “While financial aid is transformative for students and is a key driver of social equity and inclusion, it is also transformative for RISD," Williams added. "Increased access to financial aid allows the institution to begin to realize the vision of being a place where the most talented students face no barriers to entry. Students across the financial spectrum are innovative and creative. Financial aid helps to ensure that if they choose, they can develop their craft and expand their worldview through the educational experience available at RISD.” Top: Jan Rybczynski 23 FD; Regina Gutierrez 24 SC; Amadi Williams 25 PT. Middle: Simran Mehta MIA 23; Zoë Pulley MFA 23 GD; Hillary Blumberg 92 FAV and co-chair of the Board of Trustees. Bottom: Eva D'Oleo Pena 25; Rafael de Cárdenas 96 AP.

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Make it Human

With a new scholarship fund, Tony Ingrao 81 AR aims to train the next generation of RISD creatives.

You can find the work of Tony Ingrao 81 AR all over the world. From Hong Kong to St. Tropez, Saudi Arabia to Santa Barbara, he has designed luxury residences and commercial developments for royalty, captains of industry and household names. Ingrao Inc., the award-winning Manhattan-based design and architecture firm he runs with his business partner Randy Kemper, is a regular feature on Architectural Digest’s prestigious AD100 List, which honors top design, decor and architecture talent in the United States and around the globe.

Ingrao Inc.’s portfolio is notably diverse, with an expansive design vocabulary that traverses classic, mid-century and modern. The throughline is a fundamental attention to the connection between a project’s interiors and its natural surroundings—a way of looking at a building from the inside out and outside in, Ingrao says—as well as a keen interest in creating spaces that support a particular client’s psychological well-being. “What I’ve learned after these 40 years is that people come to me with all different types of personalities and imaginations and desires, and certain spaces are really good for certain people and certain spaces are bad for certain people,” Ingrao says. “What’s right for one person is not right for the next.” Ingrao’s RISD training helped him develop that sensibility. “I think because RISD is a multidimensional art school, you’re exposed to many different types of mediums,” he says. “You learn the importance of the different mediums and how they affect how people feel.” Ingrao’s route to the top of his field was not entirely linear. He grew up in a family that advised him to look for options outside of their New York-based fashion business, and then studied finance at Drew University as well as the London School of Economics and the University Libre in Brussels.

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In his residential and commercial work, Ingrao attends closely to the psychological effect spaces have on those who will occupy them. All images courtesy of Ingrao Inc.

He enrolled in RISD’s architecture program because he loved to build, took on a high-profile project shortly after graduating, and then spent 15 years in the antiques and art world in France before returning to New York to focus on architecture and design. “I had an amazing experience at RISD and thoroughly enjoyed my courses,” he says. “RISD doesn’t give you constraints. You’re allowed to change; you’re allowed to think. It was very good training.” Now, Ingrao has invested in RISD students through the Ingrao Scholarship, an endowed fund that will provide support for RISD undergraduates, particularly those studying Interior Architecture.

Ingrao, who is a member of RISD’s Architecture Advisory Council, wants undergraduates to enjoy the same kind of uninhibited creativity he did at RISD while also developing an early sense of what it means to work with clients. “What needs to be explored, thought about and explained are the issues and situations that they’ll be confronted with once they get out in the real world,” Ingrao says.

“RISD doesn’t give you constraints. You’re allowed to change; you’re allowed to think. It was very good training.” Among the 50 architects and designers who work at Ingrao Inc. are RISD alumni including Carolina Martins MA 13 IA. Ingrao values working with RISD graduates he says, because of the perspective they develop training within an interdisciplinary setting

and because his alma mater cultivates boundless creativity, which Martins, he says, exemplifies. In turn, Martins says, Ingrao creates an environment where the joys and demands of working creatively with clients are finely balanced. “You know, usually at architectural offices the work is nonstop; it’s work, work, work,” Martins says. “But at Ingrao, it’s more of a family. Tony is a very hands-on person in the design, but he lets you shine. He is very open to everyone’s ideas. It’s just putting all these brains together to create a magnificent piece of work.” Reviewers of Ingrao’s work often marvel at his ability to respond to the natural environment and incorporate art and design in a way that is ambitious but not rarefied. How does one maintain a sense of comfort and ease after renovating a client’s home to accommodate a Yayoi Kusama piece, for example, or installing a bronze Harry Bertoia sound sculpture in a reflecting pool? For Ingrao, the answer is simple. “We make it human,” he says.

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POP Art

A gift from the estate of an alumna to the RISD Fund provides support for an orientation program for first-generation college students.

As part of this year’s First-Generation to College Pre-Orientation Program, known as FGC POP or POP, first-generation college students worked with wire in the Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab, building things inspired by the objects around them. Shiloh Lemaire 27 says, “It was really entertaining! We would teach each other different methods and our professor and TAs were walking around telling us we could be silly and experiment. It was very comfortable and it was fun to work together even as we were making our own projects.” This is the type of communal, supportive experience that POP was designed to facilitate. Jonathan Sylvia P 26 and Academic Studio Advisor for Experimental and Foundation Studies; Tony Johnson 93 SC and Associate Dean, Student Social Equity & Inclusion and Richard Song, Director Intercultural Student Engagement (ISE) explain that while RISD had existing support for first-generation college students, it wasn’t enough. “Faculty in Experimental and Foundation Studies saw a pattern of first-gen students struggling and leaving school at the end of their first year, if they made it that far. So we partnered with Intercultural Student Engagement to see how we could get ahead of the problem,” Sylvia says. Seed funding from a planned gift allowed faculty and staff to design POP without worrying about placing an additional financial burden on students. Thanks to Rachel Doane 64 LA, who designated RISD as a beneficiary of her estate, students from the United States who identify themselves as firstgeneration students have attended the two-and a-half week program free of charge since it was launched in 2021. During the weeks before the academic year officially starts, students become acclimated to life at RISD, form a network of peers, take courses and learn about things that may be unfamiliar to them, such as how critiques are structured. “I like to use the analogy of a train,” Johnson says. “We saw students handling their first year at college like they were running for a train that was already moving. POP shows them how to get to the station, observe the train, analyze it and then board, now with knowledge and new perspectives.”

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Sylvia points out that the students who participate in POP may be unfamiliar with RISD’s academic expectations even as they arrive with a deep commitment to their practice. “POP does not operate on a deficit model,” he says. “These students are advanced in many ways. To use Tony’s analogy, I bet they can drive the train! They just may not know it yet.” Julio Solano 27 and Lemaire are just two of the 2023 POP participants who demonstrate this longstanding commitment to art and design. Lemaire, from Providence, participated in RISD’s Project Open Door, a community arts program for local high school students. Solano grew up in Guatemala until he was 15, when he moved to New Jersey to live with extended family and pursue his artistic interests. By the time he was considering college, he was on his own. “I didn’t have anyone to tell me how to navigate through college or even apply. So I did all of that by myself. When I got into RISD I was very nervous because I didn’t know anything about college,” Solano says. Lemaire echoes his concerns, saying “I went to public high school. I knew that when I got to college, there would be things that I didn’t know and things that I wouldn’t be prepared for. I knew that my sister didn’t know; I knew my mom didn’t really have answers either.” Enter POP. Solano says, “When I got to RISD for the program, it changed what I thought college was going to be. I found a new space where I could be myself and people who maybe don’t have my same background, but have struggled with things I’ve struggled with. I have this new community and I know what resources are out there to help me navigate RISD.” Currently, POP hosts about 30 students per summer. Sylvia, Song and Johnson view that as a strong start, but say that POP can and must grow in order to meet the needs of all first-generation students, including international students.

“When I got to RISD for the program, it changed what I thought college was going to be. I found a new space where I could be myself and people who maybe don’t have my same background, but have struggled with things I’ve struggled with. I have this new community and I know what resources are out there to help me navigate RISD.”

“We’ve seen the numbers of students who are applying to RISD from a first-gen reality increase. We’ve seen the number of those students who’ve been admitted increase,” says Johnson. “It’s a total infrastructure challenge that limits the number of students we can serve.” While the funding from Doane’s estate helped to establish the program, additional investment would create more opportunities, including the possibility of making the courses credit-bearing for participants. Song says, “As director of ISE, I want to get to a place where we don’t have to turn interested students away. That comes with some challenges in terms of dollars. As much as we would like to include all firstgen students into our program, we just don’t have that capacity yet.” POP students, faculty and staff enjoyed a day at Tillinghast Place before classes began.

To learn more about how you can support firstgeneration students, contact Carolyn Drew, senior executive director, Major + Planned Gifts, at cdrew@risd.edu.

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You Belong Here

Volunteer museum educators connect the RISD Museum with the community.

Photo by Erik Gould

Tacked up in the office of Mariani Lefas-Tetenes, the director of school and teacher programs at the RISD Museum, are handwritten notes and colorful small-scale recreations of artworks from the RISD Museum’s collection. They come from local students and others who have been guided through the museum by staff and by volunteer museum educators, also known as docents. To the countless K-12 students they have led on tours, the docents are the gateway to surprising finds, new favorite works of art and new aspirations, like one day making art that is included in the museum’s collections. (The docents also, according to the notes, are “cool,” “nice” and “make school days fun.”) To the museum, docents are essential partners in carrying out its mission of educating students and the public in the creation and appreciation of works of art and design. “The individuals who volunteer as docents help the museum fulfill its commitment to learning,” says Sarah Ganz Blythe P 22, deputy director of exhibitions, education and programs and the museum’s interim director from December 2020 to October 2023. “The docents are crucial connectors between the museum and the communities it seeks to serve. In this role, they commit to ongoing training, sometimes for decades, and together function as a learning community within the museum, propel-

AN ONGOING TRADITION Established in 1914, the RISD Museum’s docent program is the second-oldest in the country, after that of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and predates the museum’s Education Department. It has evolved over 109 years from a series of Sunday gallery lectures to a robust program of guided visits for K-12 students from all over the state; afterschool, camp and youth groups; college and university students and adult groups. In 2021-2022, the museum saw post-pandemic in-person attendance rebound strongly, and guided programs served 10,000 individuals, more than a quarter of them K-12 students.

Guided visit, ca. 1915. Staff member may be Margery MacKillop, a museum assistant and educator who was largely responsible for establishing the RISD Museum’s programming for public school students. Courtesy of the RISD Archives.

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ling our work through their boundless curiosity and fervent sense of responsibility.” Among the most well-known docents is the late Pearl Nathan, a Providence resident who volunteered with the RISD Museum from 1946 to 2016. Known for her zest for life and her commitment to educating young people, in 2008 she won an award from Providence Public Schools for her volunteer work. Now, art lovers can gather in the museum's Café Pearl and the Pearl and Ernest Nathan Gallery, a lively community space established via the generosity of the Nathan and Gerson families upon Nathan's retirement. Being a docent “was something that was meaningful and important for her,” and that provided her with a network of friends who were also knowledgeable and passionate about art, Pearl’s son Alan Nathan says. “She didn’t do it for glory. She did it because it mattered.”

The RISD Museum counts among its docents many who make long-term commitments to their volunteer work, like Janice Libby, a Providence resident who led her first tour in 1970 and retired in the spring of 2023, shortly before her 90th birthday.

ca. 1955

1977

Docent Pearl Nathan, showing a school group the sarcophagus of Nesmin, 170–30 BCE. Courtesy of the RISD Archives.

During a 1977 school tour, students learn about the Shiva Nataraja, the King of Dance. The bronze sculpture dates to the 1500s. Courtesy of the RISD Archives.

Libby’s relationship with the museum began with a membership. Over time, she became a Radeke Circle patron, supporting the RISD Museum’s core curatorial, educational and community activities, and joined the Museum Associates, a nonprofit dedicated to stimulating public interest in and support of the museum. Ultimately, she became one of its longest-serving docents, leading tours for countless young visitors and helping them engage with and learn about the collections.

and she has helped older students gain an understanding of history by guiding them through immersive exhibits.

Asked what kept her volunteering for 53 years, Libby says, “I enjoyed it!” Over the years, Libby has led tours for K-12 students as well as preschoolers in Rhode Island’s Head Start program. She helped 3- to 5-year-olds learn their colors by handing them pieces of colored paper and asking them to find those hues in nearby paintings. She responded “yes” when a group of 8-year-old boys asked if they could all hold hands and walk together through the galleries,

“There used to be a keeping room exhibit, a replica of a 17th-century New England house,” Libby says. “The children would sit on a bench in the room and talk about how people must have lived.” That exhibit is no longer on display, and since 1970, Libby has seen the RISD Museum expand and grow to include new galleries, wings and spaces as well as new works and areas of focus. The docents’ work evolves in tandem with the museum, Libby says. Docents take two-hour classes at least three times a month in order to maintain a deep understanding of exhibits and collections, and to hone their communication and teaching skills. Lefas-Tetenes, the director of school and teacher programs, says docents, like staff educators, are trained to be self-reflective, culturally competent and inclusive.

“It’s a community of love for art. . . that always wants to make sure people have a terrific time at the museum.”

ca. 1990

2018

On school tours, students are encouraged to look closely at works in the collection, ask questions and describe what they see. Courtesy of the RISD Archives.

Docent Jane Koster leading students from the International School on a tour in 2018. Photo by Erik Gould.

They aim to meet students where they are and ensure that everyone feels comfortable and at home in the museum.

Koster makes a point of repeatedly telling every tour group—as well as people she meets in the supermarket or in the course of her daily life—“the RISD Museum is your museum” and encouraging them to visit and bring family and friends. That echoes the museum’s unofficial motto “you belong here,” featured in a 2018 installation by Trustee Tavares Strachan 03 GL.

Kajette Solomon, museum social equity and inclusion program specialist, says the museum is committed to helping docents “tell the true, accurate, factual, whole story” of works of art. The RISD Museum organizes trainings on how to talk about race and how to leave biases at the door. This makes the quality of students’ experiences with the RISD Museum very high, Solomon says. “The end result is that students have learned, participated and had their perspectives heard.”

Libby says that Koster’s attitude is shared by the docent group as a whole, and that while she was ready, after 53 years, to step back from volunteering, she is excited to welcome the group of 17 new volunteers who joined the docent program in the summer of 2023.

For Jane Koster, a retired teacher and RISD Museum docent since 2002, listening for those perspectives is key.

“It’s a community of love for art,” Libby says, “that always wants to make sure people have a terrific time at the museum.”

“What we learned to do was to not start talking immediately,” says Koster, a Jamestown, RI resident. Given the opportunity, she says, students encountering a work of art will speak first, sharing everything from facts—that the Nile flows north, for example, while touring the Egyptian galleries— to their impressions and their views on the history, myths, legends and folklore depicted in the works.

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To learn more about volunteering with the RISD Museum’s docent program please contact Mariani Lefas-Tetenes, director of school and teacher programs, at teachers@risd.edu. To learn about scheduling a visit with the group tours program, visit risdmuseum.org/groupvisits.

Sonja O’Donnell P 22, the new chair of the Families Association Leadership Council, hopes families will get excited about their students’ journeys in art and design.

Demystifying RISD for Families

Sonja O’Donnell knows a thing or two about experiential learning. A longtime teacher of literature and humanities, she encourages students to ask open-ended questions and explore possibilities rather than settling on a single answer. “This type of thinking can take many forms,” she explains. “In my classes, students may learn through writing and discussion, but at RISD it can happen with a sketchpad and a pencil, on a design program or through collaboration with classmates.” In her new role as chair of the RISD Families Association Leadership Council (FALC), O’Donnell wants to celebrate RISD’s focus on experimentation and critical making and to encourage family members to come along for the ride. Just as students, accustomed to standardized tests or lecture-heavy classes, may be intimidated by this type of learning, families, perhaps with limited experience with art schools or first-generation students, can be unsure of what success looks like in this setting. “Parents, grandparents, guardians, siblings, aunts and uncles of RISD students: You are an important part of the RISD community,” O'Donnell declares. “As your student creates the future of art and design, you can support them in trying new things and getting messy. You can encourage them to stick with a process even if they are unsure or think they’ll miss the mark. They may miss entirely, and that’s ok.” One of the barriers for families in offering this type of support, she says, is a lack of knowledge. And even though she has experience in less traditional educational settings, O’Donnell felt that knowledge gap when her son, Julian O’Donnell 22 ID, started at RISD. She learned as much as she could by reading “all the fine print” on RISD’s website, from the student handbook to the course catalog. And when Julian was taking classes from home in the early days of the pandemic, she had a frontrow seat for his questions and artistic processes. Informed by her own experiences and what she had learned about RISD, O’Donnell was able to encourage her son to take risks and experiment with different approaches. As FALC chair, she hopes to empower all families to do the same.

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“We’re all coming from different places,” says O’Donnell, who notes that her father emigrated from war-torn Eastern Europe to the United States as a scholarship student. “But for all of us, it is an honor and an opportunity to shepherd our children— our students—as they grow and learn. We know that students are under a lot of pressure. How can families help to relieve some of that pressure? Through education and communication. Demystifying a RISD education—that’s what I hope to facilitate.” Along with her husband, Michael O’Donnell P 22, O’Donnell serves on the RISD Fund Steering Committee, an organization of 1877 Society donors who drive philanthropy and volunteerism through peer-to-peer fundraising and event networking. They are also donors to the RISD Scholars fund and have hosted receptions for international families for the past two years (see page 4 for more on RISD Scholars).

“We know that students are under a lot of pressure. How can families help to relieve some of that pressure?” The O’Donnell family prioritizes RISD because, she explains, “it is a cultural asset and a special place.” As a volunteer leader, she hopes to encourage others—not only families, but also students, alumni and community members—to recognize RISD’s contributions to the world and commit what they can to the institution’s future. “We lose our humanity if we don’t have arts and design and problem-solving skills,” O’Donnell says. “Many schools claim to teach problem solving. But RISD is doing it all the time. Every minute in the studio is a problem-solving minute.”

To learn more about the Families Association contact Sarah Caggiano, executive director of the RISD Fund at scaggian@risd.edu or visit families.risd.edu/families-association.

All Together for Alumni Jon Key 13 GD and Jarrett Key MFA 20 PT champion fellow RISD graduates through service on the Alumni Association Awards Committee.

Photo by Matthew Watson 09 FAV

Jarrett Key MFA 20 PT doesn’t hesitate when describing RISD graduates: “RISD alumni are truly some of the best artists in the world, period. Hands down.” That’s one of the reasons that Jarrett and their twin, Jon Key 13 GD, chair the Alumni Association Awards Committee. The siblings, based in New York, view their service on the committee as an extension of what they try to do every day. “We’re always meeting other artists and thinking about how we can uplift and champion each other and the work we all do,” Jon says. The twins co-founded Codify Art to advance that goal. The multidisciplinary collective creates, produces, supports and showcases work by artists of color, particularly women, queer and trans artists. In addition, both teach and have exhibited their paintings and sculptures in museums and galleries in the United States and Europe. Through it all, Jon and Jarrett have nurtured their connection to the college and their fellow alumni artists.

This is our school,” Jarrett says. “It’s our responsibility. We’re about to celebrate 150 years. If we want to see RISD through another 150 years, it’s going to take all of us.”

Jon also points to the awards as a moment of celebration and community. “So much of the work artists do is solo or in a vacuum. Often, it’s you in a studio by yourself and there isn’t always recognition of the labor and effort that goes into your work,” he says. “The awards recognize that and celebrate not only emerging and legacy artists, but also teaching and service. It’s really amazing.”

They have been RISD leaders since their student days: Jon, as a resident assistant during his undergraduate years and then a guest speaker and lecturer, and Jarrett as a student organizer as a graduate student and then an adjunct professor.

While receiving an award is an honor, the twins also point to the value of participating as a volunteer or nominator, particularly as young alumni. Nominating someone for an award takes just a few minutes and is an opportunity to elevate names and ideas that have not previously been part of the conversation. Alumni have a voice and the ability to shape experiences for current students and other alumni.

“Jon and I have given so much to RISD and we’ve gotten so much from this rich community, too. It just feels fitting to celebrate our fellow alumni and we’re both so excited about doing it,” Jarrett says.

“This is our school,” Jarrett says. “It’s our responsibility. We’re about to celebrate 150 years. If we want to see RISD through another 150 years, it’s going to take all of us.”

The Alumni Association Awards count major names among their recipients: Roz Chast 77 PT; Kara Walker MFA 94 PT/PR HD 06; Julie Mehretu MFA 97 PT/PR; and Nicholas Felton 99 GD, to name only a few. Jon, who received the Emerging Leader Award in 2020, says, “I felt honored to even be in the conversation among people who have won. For younger artists to be in the mix with icons like Kara Walker is powerful.”

The RISD Alumni Association honors alumni who exemplify RISD’s core values and positively impact their communities through community service, education, professional achievement or service to the college. The 2024 awards ceremony will be held during Commencement + Reunion Weekend.

“The Alumni Awards are really amazing because RISD alumni are exceptional. To be recognized by your peers and the institution is very powerful,” says Jon (left), pictured with Jarrett and President Crystal Williams at the unveiling of the Alumni Awards Wall at 20 Washington Place.

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

A scholarship helps Eleanna Feldman 25 JM find the community that drives and inspires her.

A World of Possibilities Each summer, Eleanna Feldman 25 JM makes at least one piece of jewelry that she can wear on the first day of class. For the fall of 2023, the Montclair, NJ native created a choker out of many almost identical curvilinear metal pieces that she cut out with a saw and filed by hand. The choker is a complex and arresting piece that demonstrates her skillful making, and Feldman laughs when she notes that if she were in the Jewelry + Metalsmithing (J+M) department’s Metcalf Building studios rather than her attic studio at home, there is a tool—the waterjet—that could cut out the pieces “literally in five seconds.”

Feldman came to RISD knowing she wanted to major in jewelry and metalsmithing and has spent two years mastering the traditional jewelry-making techniques that allow her to work by hand in her home studio. As she looks ahead, she plans to make greater use of the department’s high tech tools, continuing the journey she began early in her high school days. Although Feldman did not attend an art-focused high school, she studied jewelry for five years before arriving at RISD, and won a Gold Key in the 2020 Scholastic Art Awards for the northern New Jersey region while a high school junior. She was accepted by a number of art colleges, but chose RISD because of its reputation and resources as well as its emphasis on metalworking. She was also intrigued by a firsthand account of what it was like to be a RISD student.

and I really feel like I need to step it up and push myself harder. I feel like a lot of what is valuable about this environment is the constant need to push yourself. And that’s been very inspiring to me.”

“My mom has a friend who went to RISD, and she talked about it a lot, how it was so much work, but she just loved it,” Feldman says. “Being surrounded by people who have similar interests. . . I wanted that kind of environment, a fast-paced, hardworking environment where I could learn as much as possible and come out with the connections to start a really good career.”

J+M students work with generous faculty like Barbara Seidenath, a jewelry designer, metalsmith and educator whose work is in the RISD Museum collection. She was a particular source of support during Feldman’s sophomore year.

Helping Feldman get that start is the Walter M. Oppenheim Scholarship. Established in 2012 by Ruth Oppenheim in memory of her late husband, who was the former president of the Providence Jewelers Club, it is awarded to students of exceptional talent and promise. “I definitely would not have been able to go to RISD if I didn’t have the financial aid that I do have,” Feldman says. “[Managing] the full price of RISD tuition was not in the cards for me.” Now, Feldman says, “I’m surrounded by so many people who are just so incredible at what they do,

Feldman has also been inspired by the support available within the J+M department. “Jewelry is a smaller department, and we get one-on-one time with our teachers and personal guidance,” Feldman says.

“Barbara was so great and supportive,” Feldman says. “She would constantly come in on her days off to meet with us and help us through problems we were having. She really did take that extra step of getting to know us all and really helping us out on an individual level.” In the next two years, Feldman hopes to take advantage of entrepreneurship workshops and other resources that RISD offers, take courses in departments outside of J+M and continue to develop her work. “I really love the environment of RISD,” Feldman says, “and being surrounded by people who I get to be competitive with and be inspired by at the same time.”

“I really love the environment of RISD. . . and being surrounded by people who I get to be competitive with and be inspired by at the same time.”

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

Fellowship of Ideas Members of the 2023–2024 Society of Presidential Fellows cohort push their disciplines forward. Leonardo da Vinci had the Medici family. Artemisia Gentileschi had Philip IV of Spain and Jackson Pollock had Peggy Guggenheim. The members of the Society of Presidential Fellows have RISD alumni and friends.

Now in its fourth year, RISD is home to 21 students with presidential fellowships, including the recently created Vikram Kirloskar Presidential Fellowship, named in memory of Vikram Kirloskar P 12, a former member of the Board of Trustees. The fellowships provide recipients with financial support and additional resources that allow them to focus fully on their studies for the duration of their program. Gifts have made it possible for 32 promising graduate students to attend RISD, regardless of their financial background. Thanks to generous donors, Presidential Fellows come to RISD, bringing with them an influx of creative practices and new ideas. You might even say we’re in a perpetual renaissance.

ALFONSO VICENCIO MFA 25 PR

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It can mean many things to be a patron of the arts, but one meaningful act of support for artists is providing funding for education and training. That is why RISD launched the Society of Presidential Fellows in 2019. Making the school accessible and attractive to the boldest, most talented applicants ensures that RISD remains a home for intellectual and creative rigor.

Alfonso Vicencio is a multidisciplinary Black-Latino printmaker and painter from the Washington, DC, area. His work explores the synthesis of analog and digital production processes as methods to navigate the use of images in a world of new media and mass information. Vicencio received his BFA in Printmaking from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2021.

“One of my primary objectives in pursuing my studies at RISD is to expand my knowledge of global histories and post-digital theories to better develop the narratives of my work and build on my past mixed-media experiments synthesizing printmaking processes with paintings.”

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ELISE MOLLIE WILLIAMS MFA 25 SC

“With this fellowship and access to RISD’s renowned resources and faculty, I hope to expand my work in emotional biology in new and important ways. I am most excited about using the Nature Lab’s range of microscopes for research and working closely with faculty on contemporary and interdisciplinary approaches to sculpture.”

RENE CAMARILLO MFA 25 TX

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Elise Mollie Williams is an interdisciplinary artist who came to RISD from Savannah, Georgia. Her emotionally-charged work uses sculpture, painting, writing and performance/video works to interrogate and examine both the biological and the intangible structures many of us exist within. Under the microscope she places the absurdities and peculiarities of the roles, rules and regulations humans construct. Williams trained initially to become a microbiologist at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before retraining as a professional artist and receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2023.

Rene Camarillo is an East Los Angeles born-andraised creative who produces handcrafted apparel with themes of immigration, labor and critique on the social engagement of fast fashion industry practices. Through his work, Rene investigates “privilege pluralism” between consumer and maker, and produces with an emphasis on immigrant diaspora. Camarillo earned an Associate Degree of Los Angeles Trade Technical College in 2019 and has obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion, Fiber and Materials from California State University in 2021.

“I want to move in the direction that will allow me to increase the volume of my voice and provide me with a promising future. I hope to hone my skills and expand my art and garments through social spaces such as galleries, studios and eventually, to the consumer. I also hope to return to East Los Angeles one day and teach my community new skills.”

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

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GABRIEL OFEM PETER MLA 26

Gabriel Peter is an unconventional architect from Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. His passion goes beyond mere aesthetics alone as he actively works on developing sustainable design strategies for areas grappling with the profound impacts of climate change. Peter earned his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Cross River University of Technology in 2022 and has excelled as an interior architect and lead designer for various companies.

“Through this fellowship, I hope to better serve my community by developing resilient nature-based solutions to reduce the impacts of climate change and flooding for the most vulnerable and underserved populations.”

LESLIE CONDON MA 24 GAC

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Photo courtesy of Leslie Condon

Leslie Anne Condon is a Lao-American multi-disciplinary artist and independent curator. As an artist-scholar, she is interested in Critical Race Art History and issues of representation within the arts. Condon views her public practice, including her artmaking, scholarship, curation, community organizing and public speaking as a means to support and advocate for the BIPOC community. She earned her Post Baccalaureate in Fine Art 3D from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2011.

“I look forward to engaging in rigorous research during my studies while maintaining involvement with RISD’s many cultural spaces, like the RISD Museum and the Gelman Student Exhibitions Gallery, and working with RISD’s Center for Social Equity & Inclusion, which, like my own work, looks to address complex social inequities through creative public discourse.”

Photo courtesy of Gabriel Ofem Peter

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OSMOND TSHUMA MFA 25 GD

DAVID LEGRAND MFA 25 PT

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Osmond Tshuma is an award-winning Zimbabwean artist, designer, art director, typographer and curator specializing in African-inspired themes. He is the co-founder of Mam’Gobozi Design Factory, a South African design studio celebrating African identity through design, art and product design. His work challenges conventional approaches by acting as a call to the decolonization of Eurocentrism in graphic design and media and is an ode to the beauty in celebrating African culture, heritage and belonging. Tshuma obtained his graphic design degree from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa in 2013.

David Legrand is a Haitian visual artist who was most recently based in Maryland. From his upbringing in Haiti, he has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of political instability and violence in his local community. As a result, his work is committed to raising public awareness about migration and the psychological cost of missing home. By combining elements of anthropology, philosophy and art, Legrand aims to create a dialogue with the public about the intersection of personal and collective memory. He studied Studio Arts at Montgomery College, later transferred, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cornell University in May 2023.

“I believe this program will provide the ideal combination of theoretical and practical training to help me succeed in my artistic pursuits. I look forward to expanding my knowledge and skills and learning through RISD’s distinguished faculty, diverse course offerings, mentors, and peers.”

“I want to change the way the world sees Afrikan design. The SPF program will help me learn more design tools to build our agency and to achieve my dreams of building a design school in Zimbabwe with an Afrikan-centered curriculum.”

Photo courtesy of Osmond Tshuma

To learn more about supporting graduate eduction and the Society of Presidential Fellows, contact Carolyn Drew, senior executive director, Major + Planned Gifts, at cdrew@risd.edu.

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

Fond Farewell I came to RISD in 2018 excited about the future. As I write my last letter as vice president of Institutional Advancement, I am proud and appreciative of the hard work of the faculty and staff and the commitment of alumni and families. Reflecting on the last six years and looking with anticipation toward RISD’s upcoming 150th anniversary, the excitement remains. I know that great things lie ahead. I have learned that the RISD community is eager for connection and deeply invested in the institution’s continued excellence. Last year saw records in both event attendance and alumni and family volunteerism. Regional clubs have more than doubled and there are more than 20 new affinity groups, demonstrating both the breadth of alumni interests and passions and the global nature of our community. In my time at RISD, we have developed myriad ways to celebrate and inform our community, from this very magazine recognizing the generosity of our donors and volunteers to the newly re-launched RISD Alumni Magazine, digital resources for alumni and families and the podcast series Pulling the Thread. Perhaps one of the most celebratory events in the RISD year is the reimagined Commencement + Reunion Weekend, which brings together graduating students and their families with reunion year alumni. Combining these two landmark events allows the graduating class to be welcomed into the alumni community, with its over 32,000 members. It was a thrill to be part of the inaugural Commencement + Reunion Weekend in 2022 and I am certain that this new tradition will continue to grow.

Equally impressive is the RISD community’s renewed commitment to philanthropy. Since I joined Institutional Advancement in 2018, alumni, family and friends have donated $137 million in support of undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, professorships, internships and museum programming. These are five of the six best fundraising years in RISD’s history. I am particularly happy to report on the growth of the RISD Fund, which provides approximately 10 percent of the financial aid budget and raised a record $5.05 million in the last fiscal year. Overall, RISD has been able to increase its commitment to financial aid, create the Society of Presidential Fellows, which supports exceptional graduate students, establish 13 named professorships and directorships, and launch the Sustainability Design Lab, the Movement Lab and a range of other new programs for students and faculty. I’m most proud of how RISD has grown tremendously, with new staff who are dedicated to shining a spotlight on alumni work and creating opportunities for connection, volunteers who give so generously of their time and donors whose gifts are a vote of confidence in the future of the institution. RISD is a global community of kindred spirits and it is my great hope that this community will continue to flourish, showing commitment to each other and continuing to advance the institution and its mission.

O’Neil Outar Vice President of Institutional Advancement

CLASS OF 2027

Incoming First-Year Students

507

32%

students

international students

23%

languages spoken

from historically underrepresented groups

13% Acceptance rate one of the lowest nationally

7,588 Total applicants

OUR INCOMING FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS COME FROM:

SEOUL (24)

BEIJING (20)

SHANGHAI (10) BROOKLYN (13)

34%

65%

increase over last year

increase over last five years

52% Acceptance to enrollment yield

48% Students of color

36 states

325

TOP 5

Incoming students were reviewed and admitted as test-optional

California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maryland/Texas

30 countries TOP 5 China, South Korea, Canada, India, and Taiwan

3.7 Average high school GPA * Data as of 8/23

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

Our Donors

KEY:

= Trustee = Emeriti Trustee M = Museum Governor ∞ = Centennial Society ‡ = Deceased * = Non Degree Holder T

The Centennial Society recognizes over 1,400 loyal donors, who have given to RISD in any amount for three consecutive years or more. These donors, who are also recognized in the following donor lists, are identified with the infinity symbol.

GIFTS TO ENDOWMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROGRAM FUNDS

The below list recognizes donors who have made gifts or pledges of $25,000 or more to endowed and restricted funds between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

Anonymous 2x4 George I. Alden Trust David C. Barclay P 10 T and Chet R. Barclay P 10 ∞ Michael and Pele Bennett Hillary Blumberg 92 FAV T and Alex Ginsburg ∞ Fuyumi Cannon P 19 and Alan G. Cannon P 19 ∞ The Champlin Foundation Norman Chan BArch 85 T M and Susanna Kwok ∞ Joseph A. Chazan MD Coastline Trust Company Estate of Murray S. Danforth Jr. HD 84 Elissa S. Della-Piana 64 IL ∞ Susan Dryfoos P 01 ET ∞ Timothy E. Finn 00 FAV ∞

Fabian Fondriest P 16 T and Suzanne Fondriest P 16 ∞ Kim Gassett-Schiller P 14 T and Philip W. Schiller P 14 ∞ Joe Gebbia 05 GD/ID HD 17 T ∞ Richard W. Haining Sr. P 05 ET and Catherine D. Haining P 05 ∞ Hasbro Foundation ∞ Cheryl Henson P 24 and Edwin Finn Jr. P 24 ∞ Ingrao Jon Kamen P 09 T and Angela Kamen P 09 ∞ Ellsworth Kelly Foundation The Kelson Foundation Geetanjali Kirloskar P 12 T and Vikram Kirloskar ‡ P 12 Robert E. Libby BArch 61 Beth Maccaroni 94 ID and Prathan P. Poopat 94 ID Maharam The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Lauren P. Mayer-Beug 05 FAV Lindsey E. Mayer-Beug 05* FAV Phoebe Meehan 52* TX ∞ Estate of Vera Metcalf Jake Moritz MID 18 ∞

John D. Nathanson Phyllis S. Nathanson P 82 Prathan P. Poopat 94 ID and Beth Maccaroni 94 ID RISD Museum Associates Michael Rock MFA 84 GD T and Susan Sellers 89 GD ∞ Susan Sellers 89 GD and Michael Rock MFA 84 GD T ∞ Sarah A. Sharpe BGD 94 and John Powley ∞ Sparks Fund ∞ Georgianna Stout 89 GD P 24 and David D. Weeks 90 PT P 24 ∞ Estate of Betty Jean Stroh 55 LA Terra Foundation for American Art C.L. Tillinghast Foundation ∞ The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts David D. Weeks 90 PT P 24 and Georgianna Stout 89 GD P 24 ∞ Fang Wu P 23 and Runsheng He P 23 ∞ Wyeth Foundation for American Art

1877 SOCIETY

Named for the year of our founding, this society honors and recognizes those who make it possible to reach our ambitious goals and respond to the most pressing needs of the college. The 1877 Society recognizes donors’ cumulative gifts to the RISD Fund received between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 at the following levels: Trustees’ Circle President’s Circle Deans’ Circle

$25,000 or more $10,000–$24,999 $2,500–$9,999

TRUSTEES’ CIRCLE

Anonymous Estate of Stephen T. Alexieff 58 ID David C. Barclay P 10 T and Chet R. Barclay P 10 ∞ Hillary Blumberg 92 FAV T and Alex Ginsburg ∞ Fuyumi Cannon P 19 and Alan G. Cannon P 19 ∞ Norman Chan BArch 85 T M and Susanna Kwok ∞ The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation Estate of Rachel G. Doane 64 LA Susan Dryfoos P 01 ET ∞ Portia J. Durbin P 21 and Christopher A. Durbin P 21 ∞ Michelle Ebanks T and Gordon A. Ebanks Shepard Fairey 92 IL HD 21 T and Amanda Fairey ∞ Timothy E. Finn 00 FAV ∞ Fabian Fondriest P 16 T and Suzanne Fondriest P 16 ∞ Kim Gassett-Schiller P 14 T and Philip W. Schiller P 14 ∞ Joe Gebbia 05 GD/ID HD 17 T ∞ Robert W. Glass P 11 T M and Kathleen Glass P 11 ∞ Estate of Dolores C. Glovna 49 AP and Steve D. Glovna Chris Gorayeb Hasbro Foundation ∞ Cheryl Henson P 24 and Edwin Finn Jr. P 24 ∞ Jon Kamen P 09 T and Angela Kamen P 09 ∞ Shefali Khushalani P 22 ∞ David Lee 00 GD T and Ronit Lee Beth Maccaroni 94 ID and Prathan P. Poopat 94 ID Maharam Deborah Mankiw P 23 and N. Gregory Mankiw P 23 ∞ Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Nicole J. Miller 73 AP T M and Kim Taipale ∞

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

Jake Moritz MID 18 ∞ Stacey E. Nicholas P 21 T ∞ Prathan P. Poopat 94 ID and Beth Maccaroni 94 ID Harry Vandall Rigner Memorial Fund ∞ Sarah A. Sharpe BGD 94 and John Powley ∞ Tom Sieniewicz BArch 83 and Martha Sieniewicz Sparks Fund ∞ Antonia G. Steinberg 22 FD Target Corporation Garrett Thornburg ∞ C.L. Tillinghast Foundation ∞ Rex Wong BArch 03 ∞

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE

Anonymous Martha Armstrong MAE 63 and Alan Armstrong Jessica F. Arner P 11 and Eli Abbe P 11 ∞ Jessika Auerbach, Jonathan Auerbach and Klara Auerbach 19* IL ∞ Nadine E. Berkowsky 67 TX and Mark A. Berkowsky BArch 69 ∞ Guy R. Blais 57 AD ∞ Gabrielle Bullock BArch 84 T and Rocky Carroll ∞ Sean M. P. Cannon MArch 01 ∞ The Bonnie Cashin Fund, NYCT ∞ Ilene Chaiken 79 GD P 18 T and Louanne Brickhouse P 18 Clara M. Dale BArch 75 ET and John D. Dale BArch 75 ∞ Estate of Martha S. Davids Rafael de Cárdenas 96 AP Erica Gerard Di Bona P 11 T M and Vin Di Bona P 11 ∞ Francis P. DiGregorio BArch 66 and Elizabeth DiGregorio ∞ Robert A. DiMuccio T M and Rena DiMuccio ∞ Stephen M. Dynia BArch 83

Walter Henry Freygang Foundation ∞ Dorian Goldman P 08 and Marvin Israelow P 08 ∞ Joan Hall ∞ Karen Hammond T M and Michael A. Quattromani ∞ Kerry Hoffman P 25 and Paul Hoffman P 25 ∞ Natalia Howe and Michael L. Howe Asher Israelow BArch 08 Lauren Kogod BArch 85 and David Smiley ∞ Kyung-Eun Lee 93 AP and Jae P. Park 94 ID Mary Lovejoy T and John Whistler ∞ Alice Butts Metcalf Fund ∞ Sonja O’Donnell P 22 and Michael O’Donnell P 22 ∞ Catherine Oppenheimer P 24 ∞ Jae P. Park 94 ID and Kyung-Eun Lee 93 AP Jennifer Perini Michael Rock MFA 84 GD T and Susan Sellers 89 GD ∞ Alicia Rosauer 99 PH and Robert G. Segal MFA 99 TX ∞ Elinor Sapp BID 79 ∞ Christopher Scholz and Ines Elskop William Schweizer P 19 T and Alison Martier Schweizer P 19 ∞ Robert G. Segal MFA 99 TX and Alicia Rosauer 99 PH ∞ Susan Sellers 89 GD and Michael Rock MFA 84 GD T ∞ Georgianna Stout 89 GD P 24 and David D. Weeks 90 PT P 24 ∞ Roland V. Sturm P 17 and Terri E. Sturm P 17 ∞

Do Ho Suh 94 PT and Rebecca Boyle Suh Taunton-South Shore Foundation Inc. ∞ Eduardo D. Terranova MArch 06 ∞ Textron Charitable Trust ∞ Peter W. Twombly BArch 80 and Jane Franke ∞ David D. Weeks 90 PT P 24 and Georgianna Stout 89 GD P 24 ∞ Crystal Williams T Fang Wu P 23 and Runsheng He P 23 ∞ Mimi Yashiro P 21 and Marcus Everard P 21

DEANS’ CIRCLE

Anonymous Jaime A. Alvarez 01 PH ∞ Marcia Gloster Ammeen Gregory Annenberg Weingarten Jonathan E. Arena 09 GD and Sung Min Kim-Arena 09 ID Ronald F. Arnholm 61 GD Ashleigh T. N. Axios 08 GD T and Nathaniel L. Axios MFA 07 DM ∞ Christopher D. Baer 95 ID and Elizabeth Baer Robert A. Beauregard 69 AR Jeffrey G. Beers BArch 79 and Connie A. Swenie ∞ Deborah L. Berke BFA 75/BArch 77 HD 05 and Peter McCann ∞ Barbara Bertozzi Castelli P 25 and Jose Meller P 25 Lindy Bliss Gaylord BIA 77 and Bill Gaylord BArch 77 ∞ Jane K. Bohan 79 SC and Jean R. De Segonzac 75 FAV Brian E. Boyle, AIA BArch 80 Karen Bray ∞ Preston Brown P 24 ∞ Cecelia (Nash) Bruce 72 PT and Kenneth Bruce 71 AR ∞ Andrea L. Brue BArch 88 and Alan Fried ∞ Simone Bye P 16 and Mark L. Bye P 16 ∞ Lyndsay A. Caleo MFA 06 JM and Fitzhugh B. Karol MFA 07 CR ∞ Esther J. Chung 97 IL and James Chung ∞ Andrew M. Collar 02 GD ∞ Columbus Door Company Rachel B. Cope 03 SC and Nicholas Cope ∞ David J. Crabbe BArch 65 and Nancy S. Crabbe ∞ Nancy M. Crasco 64 AE P 91 and H. Kenneth Crasco 65 LA P 91 ∞ Zara Crowley 96 PT and Steve Crowley ∞ Patricia Cué Couttolenc P 25

Chelsea R. Danburg 96 TX and Asher M. Danburg 96 ID ∞ Pamela A. Danesi 77 AP ∞ David B. Daniel BArch 89 and Sally Dunkleberger ∞ Jennifer Davies 68 IL ∞ Elissa S. Della-Piana 64 IL ∞ Alex Dodge 01 PT Ann W. Douden 72 IL ∞ Sarah C. Durham 92 IL and Craig M. Winer 92 ID ∞ Elizabeth C. Durling 84 PT and Dean Durling Samuel S. Emerson BArch 71 and Linda J. Emerson ∞ Ann K. Finkbeiner P 90 ∞ Bill Gaylord BArch 77 and Lindy Bliss Gaylord BIA 77 ∞ Arpie Gennetian 92 GD/BGD 92 ∞ Peter Gill Case MArch 97 and Lucia Gill Case ∞ Peggotty W. Gilson 64* PT and Peter W. Gilson ∞ Joanna D. Golden 79 AP ∞ Carol Goldenberg Rosen 73 IL and James Rosen ∞ Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges 66 IL ∞ Gregory R. Goucher BArch 78 ∞ Amy L. Gould BArch 75 and Matthew Polk ∞ Catherine Habgood P 23 and Robert Habgood P 23 Robert B. Haig Jr. 67 AR and Judi Haig ∞ Richard W. Haining Sr. P 05 ET and Catherine D. Haining P 05 ∞ Wendy R. Hollender 76 TX ∞ Sunwoo Kahng P 23 and Peter Boberg P 23 Alice Kang 90 GD and OhSang Kwon ∞ Fitzhugh B. Karol MFA 07 CR and Lyndsay A. Caleo MFA 06 JM ∞ Helen Kim P 23 and Colin Warwick P 23 ∞ KyungEn Kim MFA 97 SC and Eulho Suh BArch 91 ∞ Won Kim P 24 and Mu Kyung Hong P 24 Sung Min Kim-Arena 09 ID and Jonathan E. Arena 09 GD Bridget E. Konopka 99 IL ∞ Andrew Kossow 96 PT Leslie Kramer MFA 76 PR ∞ Shaheen Lakhani P 26 and Karim Lakhani P 26 Corinna R. Lee Thavirat 98 ID and Justin Thavirat Claire Levesque P 17 ∞ Laura S. Lienhard 87 TX/MFA 95 ∞ Binbin Lu P 23 and Rongguang Wang P 23 ∞ Elissa Lunder P 26 and Steven Lunder P 26 Angus MacLane 97 FAV and Tashana Landray ∞

Donna L. Marcantonio MFA 99 SC Susan M. Matthews MAT 98/MFA 04 CR and James A. Kennedy ∞ Nicholas O. Mazonowicz 01 FAV Julie Mehretu MFA 97 PT/PR Pauline C. Metcalf ET M ∞ Richard H. Michaelson BArch 74 and Karen Karlsson ∞ Frances P. Middendorf 82 IL ∞ J. William Middendorf, II P 82 Irwin S. D. Miller BArch 94 P 25 and Heidi L. Miller P 25 Aya Murata P 23 and Michael Charland P 23 ∞ Stuart J. Murphy 64 IL P 96 ET and Nancy K. Murphy P 96 ∞ Cherry A. Murray P 13 ∞ Susan Neighbors 73 IL and Richard Baughman Dana M. Newbrook 63 AR ET and Nancy C. Newbrook ∞ Rosalie O’Brien P 20 and Jim O’Brien P 20 Ocean State Charities Trust Erin L. A. Oda 95 CR/MAT 96 Anthony T. Pannozzo 91 ID and Lorianne Pannozzo ∞ Lisa Williams Piasecki 99 GD and Eric Piasecki ∞ Thomas Peirce ∞

Rosalie A. Phipps P 10 and Craig A. Stock ∞ Playstation Cares Amy V. Quirk P 11 and Michael P. Lehmann P 11 ∞ Ellen G. Reeves ∞ Joan R. Reeves ET ∞ Victoria W. Reynolds 85 JM and Thomas H. Reynolds ∞ Sally E. Rigg MArch 95 and David P. Baker ∞ Judi Roaman ∞ Meg Roberts 78 TX and Steven Roberts ∞ Francis M. Roche 60 AR ∞ Lisa C. Sachs BArch 80 and John Sachs Pushpasree Sajja P 21 and Vijay K. Sajja P 21 Luke Sanzone BLA 98 ∞ Robert J. Schaeffner BArch 81 and Jennifer Schaeffner Claire Schen P 23 and Gregory Cherr P 23 ∞

Sharon Lee Driscoll Schuur 90 IL and Peter F. Schuur ∞ Tara J. Scott 98 PH Carole Segal P 99 and Gordon I. Segal P 99 ∞ Brian P. Selznick 88 IL and David Serlin ∞ Peggy B. Sharpe 53 LA P 94 and Henry D. Sharpe‡ P 94 ∞ Merrill W. Sherman ET ∞ Shahzia Sikander MFA 95 PT/PR T Mingyuan Song P 23 and Shanming Shi P 23 ∞ Janet Stegman BArch 78 ∞ Hannah Su P 26 and Donghua Han P 26 Eulho Suh BArch 91 and KyungEn Kim MFA 97 SC ∞ Supima Cotton ∞ Ann Taylor P 00 and Carole D. Smith ∞ Harold H. Tittmann, IV BArch 95 ∞ Mara Topping P 24 and Munford Topping P 24 ∞

Donna B. Tyson P 08 and Alan L. Tyson P 08 ∞ Lida Urban P 93 and Theodore S. Urban P 93 ∞ Tao B. Urban 93 PT ∞ Aundra Urban Tomlins ∞ Kimberly Van Munching P 23 and Christopher Van Munching P 23 ∞ Jose F. Vazquez-Perez MID 00 James Wall BIA 04 Helga S. Warren P 11 and Harry A. Warren P 11 ∞ Jennifer W. White 01 PH and Geoff Duckworth ∞ Craig M. Winer 92 ID and Sarah C. Durham 92 IL ∞ James R. Wynn 98 GD and Mandy Wynn Rong Zeng P 26 and Xue-Rong Hong P 26 Xiaohong Zheng P 24 and Qing Wang P 24 ∞

JESSE + HELEN ROWE METCALF SOCIETY

Named for two of RISD’s founders whose vision and legacy have blossomed into the institution we hold dear today, the Metcalf Society honors and recognizes our planned giving donors. Anonymous David Armstrong Abercrombie 61 IA Marcia Gloster Ammeen Richard A. Ansaldi BArch 69 Eli Abbe P 11 and Jessica Arner P 11 ∞ Daria Askari 05 PH ∞ Roberta Ayotte 58 TX and Robert Ayotte 58 ID‡ Marc Balet BArch 71 Anthony C. Belluschi BArch 66 P 95 ET ∞ Deborah L. Berke BFA 75/BArch 77 HD 05 ∞ James D. Bewley 97 SC Francesca Bini Bichisecchi 69 IL ∞ Guy Blais 57 AD ∞ Flavia Blechinger 64 GD ∞ Lindy Bliss Gaylord BIA 77 and Bill Gaylord BArch 77 ∞ Alexander Brebner 81 GD Paula Briggs 78 GD P 86 and Philip Briggs ‡ BArch 64 P 86 Deborah Bright Edgar Broadhead 58 TX ∞ David A. C. Carroll 69 LA/BLA 70 ∞ Joseph A. Chazan MD Laurie Chronley

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

Luke E. Cohen BArch 72 ∞ Jeffrey Cohen 84 GD Cheryl A. Comai Robert D. Corwin 76* PH Nicholas A. Demetropoulos Francis DiGregorio BArch 66 ∞ Stephen A. Earle 82 TX Curtis E. Estes 78 AR Annabeth Rodgers Faucher 15 FAV Ann K. Finkbeiner P 90 ∞

Gordon E. Lambert 68* PT Ruth B. Lee 49 AP Robert E. Libby BArch 61 Joan Matter Longobardi 59 AE ∞ Dennis Mabry 98 GD/BID 99 Carol H. Marsland 59* TX ∞

Michael W. Fior 69 IA Kathryn G. Freed 75* TX Mimi Freeman and Peter B. Freeman‡ Judith A. Funkhouser 63 IL P 89 Kenneth Gaulin 65* ID Bill Gaylord BArch 77 and Lindy Bliss Gaylord BIA 77 ∞

Richard H. Michaelson BArch 74 ∞ Anne F. Morse 97 GD Alan Nathan M Dana M. Newbrook 63 AR ET ∞

Denis Gervais 71 IA Emily Kathryn Gilman 00 GD Glenn A. Gissler BArch 84 and Siena Gissler Barbara S. Goldstein BArch 71 ∞ Jill A. Groeber 96 GD Joy K. Hallinan The Hammond/Quattromani Fund ∞ Mary M. Haynes 55 PT ∞ Joan Herron 64 GD P 02 Nathaniel T. Hesse 76 SC ∞ Thayer Hopkins BArch 75 ∞ Jane Ingle 80 TX ∞ Michael B. Koch 87 TX Joseph L. Kremer BArch 73 Elizabeth Lakeman 88 GD ∞

Miriam Marsters Dianne L. Martin 65 PT ∞ Susan Matthews MAT 98/MFA 04 CR ∞

Wendy A. Northup 80 TX P 12 Lynn L. Ollie 91 AP Suzanne M. Packer-McGarr 59* GD Jutta Annette Page PhD MAE 86 Bernard Palchick MFA 71 SC ∞ Nancy J. Parkinson Elena Pascarella BLA 75 David K. Rasweiler BArch 74 Rayon Foundation Rosalyn Richards 69 PT ∞ Allison S. Roberts MFA 09 PR Christina E. Rodriguez 03 IL Leslie Saul BArch 77 Irving C. Sheldon Jr. Oren S. Sherman 78 IL Meredith C. Smith 71 AP/MAT 72 Linda Taraborelli Smith 69 GD John W. Smith Ann Solomon-Schwartz 70 IL Alise Spinella 04 PT

Gloria Spivak M Marilyn D. Stempler 60 GD Molly Rice Symons MAE 91 Judith E. Tannenbaum Mary Taschner 64 IA ∞ Thomas G. Taylor Betsy Taylor-Kennedy BArch 83 ∞ Garrow Throop 69 GD ∞ Philip E. Tobey BArch 66 ET and Pamela B. Tobey 68 AE Alfred B. Van Liew P 89 Patricia Wilkie Warwick 66 GD Bree Westphal 11 IL ∞ Richard E. White 69 SC Alex Williams 06 FD ∞ Elizabeth A. Williams Gloria Winston Alan C. Witschonke 75 IL Karol B. Wyckoff 58 IL Salli Zimmerman 65 AE and Jerome Zimmerman‡ MFA 65 SC Linda Zindler Dolores L. Zompa ∞

Estate of Stephen T. Alexieff 58 ID Estate of John Allen BArch 68 Estate of Marion D. Almy Estate of Nancy Angier Estate of Richard Baker HD 78 Estate of Selma Bernstingle Estate of Helen Bigelow Estate of William H. Bocook 61 AR Estate of Gail Paige Bolger Estate of Philip Briggs BArch 64 P 86 Estate of Merrill P. Budlong 60 AR Estate of Helen Byram 37* AP Estate of Julie A. Carter 50 IL P 85 Estate of John Carter P 85 Estate of Elizabeth Casey Estate of Margaret Cavigga Estate of Esther Chester 41 AE and Samuel Chester Estate of John Chironna 61 IL Estate of Bernard Clorman 52 GD Estate of Jean Coffin 52 GD Estate of Barbara Cooper Estate of Jerome Corwin Jr. 34 GD Estate of Phyllis Corwin Estate of Helen Cusick-Kenny Estate of Helen Danforth HD 76 Estate of Maria Dasdagulian Estate of John De Angelis 35 TX Estate of Enrico Della Biancia Estate of Frank Demattos 54 GD Estate of Rita Derjue Zimmerman 56 GD Estate of Rachel Doane 64 LA Estate of Ina Donnan 57 TX Estate of Kenneth Dresser 61 IA Estate of Rosaline Duffy 44 ID Estate of Nancy Etani 55 IL and Kenji Etani Estate of Bayard Ewing HD 86 and Harriet Ewing 39* PT

Estate of Barnet Fain and Jean Fain Estate of Benita Berlind Fry-Delarm Estate of Ann Gellman Estate of Leonore Gerlach 37 AE Estate of Abbott Gleason P 00 Estate of Dolores Glovna AP 49 and Steve Glovna Estate of Mae Godfrey Estate of Mary Jane Green Estate of Sidney Greenwald HD 00 Estate of Virginia Gresham Estate of Frederick Griffiths Estate of Elizabeth Guny Estate of William H. Habicht P 84 Estate of Eleanore Hadley 49 AP Estate of Hazel R. Hale Estate of Phyllis Hamabe Estate of Mary Olds Hartman 44* PT Estate of Paul Harvey 52* GD Estate of Hao Hoang BArch 88 Estate of Louise Hoge Estate of Richard Holmes Estate of Shirley Holmes Estate of Phoebe Honig 52 IL and Clark Honig Estate of Joan G. Hooper and Frank C. Hooper Estate of Carol Horrocks 37 AE Estate of Ann Howard Estate of Leonard Iannacone Estate of Jane S. Jacques Estate of Christine Jones 52 IA and Richard Jones 51 GD Estate of Jeanette Kaplan 34 GD Estate of David J. Katz 81 LA Estate of George J. King Jr. 53* AE Estate of Ernest Kirwan 51 IA P 84 and Constance Kirwan 51 AD/58 PT P 84 Estate of Suzanne Klay 57 CR Estate of Claire Wood Labine P 89 Estate of Mary Ann Laurans Estate of Steven Lerner BArch 67 Estate of Frederick Lippitt Estate of Mary Ann Lippitt Estate of Ida Littlefield Estate of Charlotte Loeb Estate of Kenneth Logowitz Estate of George Lyman 52 ID and Ernestine Lyman Estate of Louise Mackenzie Estate of Edna Martin 17 PT Estate of John Maslen 51 GD and Barbara Maslen 51 LA Estate of Esther Mauran HD 04 Estate of George Maver 51 AE Estate of William O. McCagg Jr. Estate of Ruth Mccarthy 37 AE Estate of Dolores C. Mckenna Estate of Houghton Metcalf HD 96 Estate of Carl Miller 65 TX Estate of Angela Minet Estate of Leslie Moore 59 AR Estate of Anne Morrison 65 GD

Estate of John Moses 53 IA Estate of Jane S. Murray Estate of Dorothy Oborne Estate of Gretchen Orr 57 TX Estate of Lillian A. Ossipoff Estate of F. Suzanne Parlette Estate of Herbert Pell 69 ID P 00 Estate of John Perrino 48 ID Estate of Mary B. Polk 43 AP Estate of Elizabeth Pollard Estate of Crimilda Pontes 48 AD Estate of Norris Prentice 32 AR Estate of Jane Prouty MAT 71 Estate of Priscilla Randall Estate of William Reeves Estate of Cornelius C. Richard Jr. 55 SC Estate of Elizabeth Richardson Estate of George B. Rome 62 IA Estate of Elizabeth Rose Estate of Leo Rosen GP 85 and Gloria Rosen GP 85 Estate of Edythe Salzberger 65 AE Estate of Caroline Scheffler 31 JM Estate of Elizabeth M. Schmitt BArch 71 Estate of Edward and Ruth Adler Schnee 45 IA Estate of Jean Schoonmaker 48 IL Estate of Marjorie Schroeder Estate of Pamela Schwarz Clark 75 AE Estate of Alice Sederlund Estate of Clinton W. Sellew and Lura Sellew 44 AE Estate of Katharine Sheldon Estate of Alfred Shepherd Estate of Caroll Silver Estate of Ruth Simpson Estate of Patricia Martin Smith Estate of Walter Smith Estate of Katharine Stevenson 33 LA Estate of Betty Jean Stroh 55 LA Estate of Cornelia B. Sturgis Estate of Janet Sullivan Estate of Ronald E. Swenson BArch 76 and Ruthann T. Swenson Estate of Warren Sylvester 51* AR Estate of C. George Taylor and Eleanor G. Taylor Estate of Naomi Towner 62 TX Estate of Theresa Trifari Estate of Sara Ulman 43 AP Estate of Beatrice Wagner Estate of J. Calvin Walker P 90 Estate of Paul Warner 58 ID Estate of Hayes Warner 57 AE Estate of Kay Whitcomb 43* JM Estate of Erskine N White Jr. Estate of William C. Wittmann P 73 Estate of Marjean Willett 48 LA Estate of Arlene I. Wilson 57 AE Estate of Nell Znamierowski 53 TX

RISD FUND

Fuel the Spark

RISD students carry a spark of creativity that burns brighter each time they enter the studio. From Foundation Year to senior shows, the RISD Fund fuels experimentation and discovery.

Make your gift today! give.risd.edu/momentum

MOMENTUM—FALL 2023

“In my first year, I’m excited to work with new materials, like wood. I want to know how to make the material do what I want.” — Shiloh Lemaire 27

NONPROFIT 421.e Rhode Island School of Design 20 Washington Place Providence, RI 02903 USA

Presorted First-Cla

PRSRT STD 421.e

To find files: For Testing > SHAREDATA > Indicias (Permit Imprint) > 06 indicias (eps outlines)

RISD Momentum Fall 2023

Articles inside

Fond Farewell

Fellowship of Ideas

A World of Possibilities

All Together for Alumni

Demystifying RISD for Families

You Belong Here

POP Art

Make it Human

Here and Now

Connected Community