Careers in Fine Arts, Architecture & Design:
Rhode
Island Has Designs On You
By Jan Aaron
If you admire it, wear
it, or laugh at it, chances are it may have started at the
Rhode Island School of Design ([RISD;] 2 College Street,
Providence, RI 02903; write here to Admissions for appointments
to visit or phone 401-454-6100; www risd.edu/). Some famous
grads nurtured here include glass artist Dale Chiuli, fashion
designer Nicole Miller, and animator, Seth McFarland, originator
of Fox TV’s hit, “Family Guy.”
Having recently toured the sprawling campus with 41 buildings,
34 historic properties, a world-class museum, galleries, library,
and a nature lab all displayed under towering trees on sculpture-studded
grounds, I wanted to know what goes on inside. Enrolled are
1883 undergraduates and 399 graduates. Founded in 1877, RISD
is the preeminent design school in the country, attracting
students from the US and 47 other countries. I wondered how
they are selected and what challenges they face.
“We look for applicants with interesting portfolios,
technical and thinking skills, what art ideas make them stand
out, sets them apart from others, and how the applicant looks
at the world. They also need the traditional skills, those
fundamentals that are generally taught in secondary schools,” said
Ed Newhall, director of admissions, in a phone interview.
As for challenges,
he cited the intensity of the experience here. “They come from a varied program to spend an extraordinary
amount of time on art in the studio or outside. That can mean
7 1/2 hours in a drawing class. For freshmen, This takes adjusting
to. It’s also very enjoyable and so is being among people
interested in what they’re interested in,” he said.
Undergraduates and graduates can seek degrees in fine arts,
architecture, design disciplines and art education. Academic
programs range from research and design initiatives to art
criticism and international exchange programs. In addition
to 482 full and part time faculty members, RISD hosts many
guest critics and lecturers each year. The average undergraduate
class size is 14, graduate 10.
Students are encouraged
to think outside the box, by considering a wealth of issues,
including environmental and global and to study other cultures
and their beliefs to gain the necessary perspective to shape
our world. RISD’s Continuing Education
offers nearly 200 courses each year for adults and children
at various levels.
The RISD Museum, (401-454-6500;
224 Benefit St. www.risd.edu/museum/cfm; Tues.-Sun 10-5 until
9, the third Thursday each month) a teaching tool for students,
is Rhode Island’s finest and one of
the best for its size in the country. Displayed in its permanent
collection are nearly 80,000 works of art from virtually every
culture and period. Renowned for Etruscan, Greek and Roman
art, British watercolors, 19th century French art, and textiles,
I was drawn to elegant ancient jewelry, old silver and Japanese
works, though there is fine modern art as well as special changing
exhibits.#
