RISD 150
Limitless Vision
RISD was founded on the belief that art and design matter to everyone. Our 150th anniversary commemoration will celebrate the forward-looking spirit of our founders and the way it continues to inspire new generations of creative leaders.
Throughout 2026 and 2027, we’ll be marking the moment with events and activities large and small, near and far. Stay tuned for how to take part.
Join the celebration
JUL 2026
RISD Emerging: a curated exhibition at Featherstone Center for the Arts
As RISD celebrates 150 years of creativity and innovation, RISD Emerging highlights the artists and designers who will carry that legacy forward. This curated exhibition at Featherstone Center for the Arts features work by recent RISD alumni from the classes of 2023–26. Join us for the opening reception on July 26, 2026, from 4–6 pm. The exhibition will be on view through August 16, 2026.
NOV 2026
In the Making: 150 Years of Collecting at the RISD Museum
In celebration of RISD’s 150th anniversary, In the Making explores what makes the RISD Museum distinctive: a collection shaped by teaching, experimentation, and an ever-evolving understanding of art and design. Since its founding, the museum has assembled more than 100,000 works spanning antiquity to today and cultures across the globe.
In the Making examines how and why objects entered the RISD Museum collection, tracing shifts in institutional priorities and cultural contexts over time. More than 75 objects on view reflect one-of-a-kind artistic production to larger-scale manufacturing locally and beyond, global textiles and decorative objects that speak to materials and techniques, photographs and posters that capture important sociopolitical movements, and bold acquisitions that challenged cultural norms. The exhibition reveals collecting as an active, reflective practice—one that continues to shape how these works are studied, taught, and understood today.
Curated by Emily Banas, associate curator of decorative arts and design, In the Making opens on November 21, 2026 and runs through June 6, 2027.
NOV 2026
RISD & Sotheby’s: Auction & Celebration
In November 2026, in New York City, RISD will host a landmark auction with Sotheby’s—the official kickoff to RISD’s 150th anniversary in 2027—celebrating the creative impact of our alumni. Featuring works by renowned artists and designers, including Walton Ford 82 FAV, Tavares Strachan 03 GL, and more to be announced, this event will honor 150 years of creative achievement while highlighting the extraordinary impact RISD graduates continue to have on culture, industry, and society.
Bringing together alumni, collectors, supporters, and friends, the auction will celebrate the talent, innovation, and influence that have defined RISD since 1877. At the same time, it will invest in the future: all proceeds will support student scholarships, helping ensure that the next generation of artists and designers can access a RISD education and contribute their own creative vision to the world.
MAR 2027
Founders Day
MAY 2027
Commencement and Reunion Weekend
SEP 2027
Alumni Exhibition at Woods-Gerry Gallery
NOV 2027
Alumni Artists Ball, New York City
Our beginnings
In 1877, a small group of Rhode Island women, inspired by the creative talent and industry present in the state, invested in the creation of a school and museum of art and design. This decision, made decades before any woman had the right to vote in the US, was all the more remarkable because of its progressive nature. Rather than imagining a salon or institute for the elite, as was common at the time, RISD was intended to be broadly accessible and focus on the “general advancement of public Art Education.”
Since then, RISD has grown in size and scope—welcoming talented students from all over the world who fill our studios and campus spaces with the joy and promise of making—and launching generations of creative leaders, thinkers, and doers.
About RISD’s commemorative 150 mark
The 150 mark was created by Nick Benson HD 24, master carver, artist, and grandson of John Howard Benson, the late RISD professor who designed the original RISD seal in 1951. Working in the style of his grandfather, Nick Benson paid homage to the flourishes of the original, simultaneously drawing a connection to RISD’s past and giving this momentous occasion a distinct visual identifier.
Presidential Project Fund
To celebrate 150 years of making, teaching, questioning, and contributing to culture and society, President Crystal Williams is launching a campus project fund that invites every department, program, and member of our community to propose activations, projects, or events that reflect what this institution means to you. Stay tuned over the coming months for more information on how to apply.
You’re invited
RISD has always been a shared project. Check back to learn more about public participation in RISD’s anniversary celebration. Help us imagine our next 150 years!