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.

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.

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

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.”

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.

“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

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.”

Leslie Condon Ma 24 Gac

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.”

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.”

David Legrand Mfa 25 Pt

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.”

Osmond Tshuma Mfa 25 Gd

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.

“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.”

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.