Here in RI | RISD Helps Celebrate Design

As the sixth annual DESIGN WEEK RI gets off the ground today (September 12), RISD alumni and faculty are again integrally involved in the 10-day celebration of the state’s top design talents.

RISD will host the DESIGN WEEK RI keynote on Thursday, September 19: a panel discussion led by Amy Devers MFA 01 FD, co-host of the podcast Clever. While recording an upcoming episode of the design-focused podcast, she’ll facilitate a conversation between President Rosanne Somerson (one of her former professors), Furniture Design faculty member Sara Ossana MIA 05, AS220 Director Umberto Crenca and RISD student Sophie Chien BArch 20 about creativity as a mindset and approach to problem solving.

Associate Professor of Industrial Design Cas Holman, a toy designer who also founded Heroes Will Rise, is participating in the kickoff event Art After Dark: Playdate on the Lawn at the Newport Art Museum.

On Friday (September 13) Printmaking Critic Dan Wood 94 PR, who believes in the “deep social impact of printing,” welcomes visitors to his DWRI Letterpress print shop in Providence.

Over the weekend, fellow alum and faculty member Anther Kiley MFA 13 GD will share his new line of paper toys called Cardkits at World’s Fair Gallery in downtown Providence (he’s also launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund production and will be selling the line at RISD Craft on October 12).

Among the speakers at DESIGN WEEK RI’s Marathon Clambake on Tuesday (September 17) is landscape designer Tanya Kelley MLA 12, founder and principal of PLACEstudio in Newport, who recently completed projects at the Newport Opera House and the Norman Bird Sanctuary (also on Aquidneck Island).

On Wednesday evening (September 18), DesignxRI—the nonprofit that coordinates this annual celebration of design excellence—will welcome its newest inductees into the RI Design Hall of Fame. Having earned the honor herself in 2017, President Somerson co-chairs the host committee (which also includes several members of the RISD community) for the Hall of Fame event.

Inductees for 2019 include alumni John Everett Benson 61 SC, a master stone carver, and James Estes BArch 72 of Estes Twombly Architects in Newport, RI, both of whom are receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition, Lindy McDonough 08 ID, creative director at Lotuff Leather, will accept the Emerging Designer Award.

Register here for the keynote event at RISD, which is free and open to everyone, and find a complete schedule of events at DESIGN WEEK RI.

—Simone Solondz

September 12, 2019