Rhode Island School Of Design | RISD

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At Rhode Island School of Design, you’ll join a creative project that started in 1877

Scroll to next section Student crouching and working on a large yellow and green painting in a painting studio. Wooden architectural model being thrown into sky by one hand. View of RISD’s main building, 20 Washington Place, at dusk. Building is a mix of traditional brickwork and contemporary architectural elements.

RISD is a college and museum located in Providence, Rhode Island

Explore Our Programs Online Info Sessions Your browser does not support the video tag. Click to pause or play the video Overhead shot of two hands placing blocks on a graphic wooden and painted architectural model. Image of student dressed in black performing in a white studio space with a laptop, three microphones, two speakers. An orange sits next to the student.

An immersive, cross-disciplinary environment where making begins with a question

Undergraduate Graduate Continuing Education Pre-Collegiate Museum Your browser does not support the video tag. Click to pause or play the video

We generate and challenge the ideas that shape our future

Meet our students Meet our alumni Your browser does not support the video tag. Painting by alum Jon Key of a Black man in a purple suit in fetal position against a red background. The suit is composed of geometric purple squares. Your browser does not support the video tag. Alum Tanya Aguiñiga in a suit and mask made of flesh-toned neoprene, glass and metal, walking the length of the border wall in the southern US. Your browser does not support the video tag. Michael Maltzan - Architectural rendering of the Sixth Street Bridge which is made up of a series of arches over the Los Angeles river. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Painting by alum Jon Key of a Black man in a purple suit in fetal position against a red background. The suit is composed of geometric purple squares. Your browser does not support the video tag. Alum Tanya Aguiñiga in a suit and mask made of flesh-toned neoprene, glass and metal, walking the length of the border wall in the southern US. Your browser does not support the video tag. Michael Maltzan - Architectural rendering of the Sixth Street Bridge which is made up of a series of arches over the Los Angeles river. Your browser does not support the video tag. Resume motion

Upcoming events

colorful abstract painting 1:30–2:30 pm | Feb 24 Visiting Artist Sangram Majumdar

The Painting department welcomes the University of Washington faculty member and RISD alum for a Kirloskar-funded talk in this spring’s lecture series.

Image an artist throwing a clay sculpture inside a studio space 6:30–8 pm | Feb 24 Visiting Artist Roberto Lugo

The Ceramics department welcomes the Philadelphia-based ceramicist, social activist, poet, and educator, whose work reflects a 21st-century street sensibility.

Image two vase-shaped sculptures stand on podiums on either side of a gallery wall, in front of several windows 6:30–7:45 pm | Mar 12 Visiting artist Nicole Cherubini

The RISD Museum hosts the RISD Ceramics alum, whose work challenges the conventions, expectations, and codified hierarchies of sculpture.

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It Starts with a Question

It Starts with a Question, a new video interview series hosted by RISD President Crystal Williams, features conversations with thought leaders, art and design luminaries, and other notable creatives and changemakers. In the latest episode, multidisciplinary artist and MacArthur “genius grant” awardee María Magdalena Campos-Pons and President Williams have a wide ranging discussion about the role of art and artists in the world.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Life After RISD: Anina Major

The award-winning Bahamian artist and educator discusses the creative breakthroughs that drove her to pursue her calling as a professional artist.

Read the Interview

Image Anina Majors

Life After RISD: Anina Major

The award-winning Bahamian artist and educator discusses the creative breakthroughs that drove her to pursue her calling as a professional artist.

Read the Interview

Latest stories

Hear more about RISD’s community of artists, designers and scholars.

Grad student Jonathon Zalakos guides a student in his engraving class Wintersession Jewelry + Metalsmithing Course at RISD Explores Ancient Engraving Techniques

The class studied inlay, overlay, and engraving processes, reimagining the relationship between the functional and the ornamental.

a computer showing a medical-themed video game Grad Students Lead RISD Wintersession Course Exploring Video Games as Artistic Expression

From cooking to travel to themes of medicine, students created their own video games in a recent Wintersession studio.

the class listens to student compositions inside the Grand Gallery Sound Wintersession Course at RISD Explores Acoustics, Architecture, and Auditory Perception

Students considered how sound can serve as a spatial and experiential medium, guiding attention, shifting atmosphere, and provoking new forms of encounter.

the curatorial team for Black Biennial 2026 RISD’s Third Black Biennial Celebrates Cross-Diasporic Community

Please Catch Me When I Fall, curated by RISD students Karma Johnson, Khalil McKnight, and King Meulens, highlights joy, vulnerability, and the many stories to be told about the Black experience.

a painting that says keep creating RISD Careers’ “Art of Business” Series Teaches Skills for Creative Career Longevity

From taxes and contracts to managing money and staying true to oneself, the webinar series teaches students and alumni how to sustain their creative businesses.

two students mix bioplastics on top of a hotplate RISD-HMG Research Partnership Explores Tangible Futures in Advanced Biodesign

Fall 2025 Regeneration Studio focuses on biomimicry research in structures, materials, mechanisms, and interfaces.

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Latest from #RISD

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  • Due to the volume of blizzard snowfall, RISD will remain closed on Tuesday, February 24 and re-open on Wednesday, February 25, 7:00 am. See risd.edu/emergency for additional details and updates—link in profile.
  • Due to inclement weather, RISD will close on Sunday, February 22, at 11:00 pm and will re-open on Tuesday, February 24, at 7 am. See risd.edu/emergency for additional details and updates—link in profile.
  • A celebration of the ongoing @risdapparel studio collaboration with @artofperfumeryatiff was recently held at IFF’s NYC headquarters. The multisensory event featured bespoke fragrance collections, a screening of RISD Apparel Design’s ‘Collection 25’ film, and more. RISD and IFF have been working together since 2019, and this event marked the launch of an official three-year partnership. This collaboration—the only such partnership between IFF and a US institution of higher education—has resulted in dozens of bespoke fragrances to date, each specifically conceived and developed to complement the vision of Apparel Design seniors collections via IFF’s art of perfumery. Photos: Rebecca Greenfield
  • FAV student Channing Christ takes us through the magic of stop motion. She’s in the process of creating her junior film, which involves a combination of puppets and sets both 3D and made of paper. Questions for Channing about her process? Let us know in the comments. We’re excited to show you more ways RISD students work through this profile series.
  • Celebrating the year of the Fire Horse with a drawing by Industrial Design alum @feliciachiao A Taiwanese-American artist and designer, Felicia has been making Lunar New Year drawings every year since 2017. Currently, her work can be seen in her solo exhibition ‘It Doesn’t Have to Be So Hard’ @nucleusportland gallery in Oregon. Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate! 🧧 🐎
  • Students in @risd_jewelrymetalsmithing Wintersession course ‘Silver Meets Steel’ explored ancient engraving techniques such as inlay and overlay, reimagining the relationship between the functional and the ornamental. The course was taught by grad student Jonathon Zalakos, who shared his love of engraving and furthered his longstanding goal of making meaning by integrating traditional materials and techniques with contemporary practices and philosophical thought. Read more—link in profile.
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Thank you to all of the artists and designers whose work is featured here. From top to bottom: Bhen Allen MFA 22 PT (photo by Jo Sittenfeld MFA 08 PH), Alexander Kern BArch 21, photo of 20 Washington Place by Bruce Damonte, Kaori Yasunaga 21 FAV, Kunyue Qi BArch 21 & Jen Chenyu Zhang BArch 21, Qihang Li 20 PR, Meredith Binnette 20 FAV, Miguel Enrique Lastra MFA 22 CR, Jon Key 13 GD, Nickole Klarou 21 FAV, Tanya Aguiñiga MFA 05 FD (photo by Gina Clyne), Jackie Oh 22 AP/FAV, Michael Maltzan BArch 85 (image courtesy of Michael Maltzan Architecture), Julia Chien 22 FAV.


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