Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, ) is a
fine arts and design
college located in Providence, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It has been ranked among the best
art and design universities in the United States.[3][4][5][6]
Founded in 1877, it is located at the base of College Hill;
the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two
institutions share social, academic, and community resources and
offer joint courses. Applicants to RISD are required to complete
RISD's famous two-drawing "hometest", one of which involves the
trademark RISD bicycle drawing.
It includes, on the Fall 2015 term, about 470 faculty and
curators, and 400 staff members. About 2,014 undergraduates and 467
graduate students enroll from all over the United States and 57
other countries. It offers 16 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate
majors. RISD is a member of the Association
of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium
of thirty-six leading art schools in the United States. It also
maintains over 80,000 works of art in the RISD Museum.
History
The Centennial Women[7]
were a group formed to raise funds for a separate Women's Pavilion
showcasing women's work at the 1876 Centennial Exposition.[8]
In a little over a year the RI women raised over $10,000 with
spectacles such a recreation of the burning of the Gaspee
that drew a crowd of 9000, the writing and publication of a monthly
newspaper, Herald of the Century, and an art exhibition. The
Women's Pavilion at the 1876 Centennial successfully highlighted
women's "economic right to self-sufficiency" and included exhibits
from recently founded design schools, displays of new patents by
women entrepreneurs, and a library containing only books written by
women. The Rhode Island Centennial Women submitted their newspaper,
Herald of the Century, to this Women's Pavilion's
library.
At the end of the World's Fair, the RI Centennial Women had
$1,675 left over and spent some time negotiating how best to
memorialize their achievements.[8]
Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf proposed
that the group donate the money to found what would become the
Rhode Island School of Design, and this option was chosen by a
majority of the women on January 11, 1877. The school was
incorporated in March 1877[9]
and opened its doors the following fall at the Hoppin Homestead in
downtown Providence, RI.[10]
Metcalf directed the school until her death in 1895. Her daughter,
Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke, then
took over until her death in 1931.[11]
The Rhode Island General Assembly
ratified “An Act to Incorporate the Rhode Island School of
Design” on March 22, 1877. “For the purpose of aiding
in the cultivation of the arts of design.” Over the next 129
years, the following original by-laws set forth these following
primary objectives:
- First. The instruction of artisans in drawing, painting,
modeling, and designing, that they may successfully apply the
principles of Art to the requirements of trade and
manufacture.
- Second. The systematic training of students in the
practice of Art, in order that they may understand its principles,
give instruction to others, or become artists.
- Third. The general advancement of public Art Education,
by the exhibition of works of Art and of Art school studies, and by
lectures on Art.
Programs of
study
- Apparel Design -
B.F.A.
- Architecture - B.F.A./B.Arch, M.Arch
- Ceramics - B.F.A., M.F.A.
- Digital + Media - M.F.A.
- Film/Animation/Video -
B.F.A.
- Furniture Design - B.F.A., M.F.A.
- Glass - B.F.A., M.F.A.
- Graphic Design - B.F.A.,
M.F.A.
- Illustration - B.F.A.
- Industrial Design -
B.F.A., B.I.D., M.I.D.
- Interior
Architecture - M.A.
- Department of Interior Architecture: Degree in Interior
Studies: Adaptive Reuse - B.F.A., M.Des
- Jewelry/Metalsmithing - B.F.A.,
M.F.A.
- Landscape
Architecture - M.L.A.
- Painting - B.F.A., M.F.A.
- Photography - B.F.A., M.F.A.
- Printmaking - B.F.A., M.F.A.
- Sculpture - B.F.A., M.F.A.
- Teaching & Learning in Art & Design - M.F.A.
- Textiles - B.F.A.,
M.F.A.
Rankings
RISD is annually ranked as the top art and design school in the
United States. U.S. News & World Report
ranked RISD first amongst Fine Arts programs, above Yale University and the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago.[12]
In 2015, RISD has been ranked 3rd by the QS World University Rankings
amongst Art & Design programs.[13]
Within subdivisions of Fine Arts, the school was ranked 1st in
graphic design, printmaking and industrial design; 2nd in painting; and 3rd in ceramics and photography.[14]
Concentrations
Concentrations at RISD do not confer a degree; they act like
minors at other education institutions and require courses
in the chosen field.
RISD
Museum
The RISD Museum houses a collection of fine and decorative art
objects. The first public galleries opened in 1893.
Past
presidents
| Rosanne Somerson |
2015–present |
| John Maeda |
2008–2013 |
| E. Roger Mandle |
1993–2008 |
| Louis A. Fazzano |
1992–1993 (interim president) |
| Thomas F. Schutte |
1983–1992 |
| Lee Hall |
1976–1983 |
| Talbot Rantoul |
1969–1976 |
| Donald M. Lay, Jr. |
1968–1969 (interim president) |
| Albert Bush-Brown |
1962–1968 |
| John R. Frazier |
1955–1962 |
| Max W. Sullivan |
1947–1955 |
| Helen Metcalf Danforth |
1931–1947 |
| Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke |
1913–1931 |
| Isaac Comstock Bates |
1907–1913 |
| William Carey Poland |
1896–1907 |
| Herbert Warren Ladd |
1891–1896 |
| Alfred Henry
Littlefield |
June 11–27, 1890 (resigned) |
| Royal Chapin Taft |
1888–1890 |
| Claudius Buchanan Farnsworth |
1877–1888 |
Fleet
Library
Founded in 1878, the RISD Library is one of the oldest
independent art college libraries in the country. Its more than
145,000 volumes and 380 periodical subscriptions offer unusual
depth and richness in the areas of architecture, art, design and
photography. The collection provides strong historical and
contemporary perspectives, and materials in landscape architecture,
ceramics, textiles, and jewelry support upper-level research. The
library is also noted for its artist’s book collection, its
rare books and outstanding visual resources collections.
A nationally award-winning example of adaptive reuse, this
55,000-sf renovated bank building and second floor houses 130,000
books, 685,000 image and sound holdings, and 1,200 artists
books.
Students also have access to Brown University libraries and the
Providence Athenaeum.
Nature
Lab
Edna W. Lawrence founded the Nature Lab[16]
at Rhode Island School of Design in 1937. Lawrence graduated from
RISD in 1920 and began teaching at RISD in 1922.[17]
The Nature Lab is a collection of plant, bird, marine, and animal
specimens, many of which circulate to RISD students and faculty for
use in their studios. The Arthur Loeb Science Design collection is
housed in the Nature Lab and includes three-dimensional geometric
models and two-dimensional patterns found in the natural world.
Notable
alumni
XYZ
Magazine
XYZ Magazine is RISD's primary print publication by and about
the school's alumni. It was first published in May 2010, replacing
the college’s original magazine risd views (1995–2009).
The magazine encourages the participating of its alumni with the
mission "to keep readers informed about the people, projects and
passions that make RISD’s creative community so special." The
magazine is published twice a year - in November and May.[18]
Notable current and past
faculty
Honorary Doctorate of Fine
Arts
* Commencement speaker
- 2015[19]
- 2014[20]
- 2013[21]
- 2012[22]
- 2011[23]
- 2010[24]
- 2009[25]
- 2008[26]
- 2007[27]
- 2005[28]
- 2004[29]
- 2003[30]
- 2002[31]
- 2001
- 2000
- 1999
- 1998
- 1997
- 1996
- 1995
- 1994
- 1993
- 1992
- 1991
- 1990
- 1988[32]
- 1987
- 1986[33]
- 1983[34]
- Beatrice (Oenslager) Chace