SPUR Grants Fuel Cutting-Edge Research by RISD Students, Recent Alum

“I learned Jacquard design while earning my MFA in Textiles at RISD and wanted to push the limits of this technology by harnessing the speed and scale of industrial weaving and introducing unconventional materials and structures to see what these machines are capable of,” says recent alumna Elizabeth Meiklejohn MFA 22 TX. “The synthesis of hands-on material manipulation and digital precision is central to my weaving practice, and I’m currently using it to produce uniquely dimensional, illusory woven textiles.” 

Meiklejohn recently attended a two-week artist residency at Praxis Fiber Workshop in Cleveland, OH with funding from a Student Provisional Ubiquity Research (SPUR) grant awarded by RISD Research. SPUR grants support nontraditional and experimental frameworks, theories, methodologies, inquiries and creative approaches that result in transformative impact. 

“The textiles I developed at Praxis will... inform my future explorations of visual perception mediated by shape-shifting, dimensional textiles.”

SPUR awardee Elizabeth Meiklejohn

As a researcher, artist and designer, Meiklejohn strives to unify the many disciplines she has worked in and believes that knowledge borrowed from distant fields can radically transform one’s practice. “Every fabrication method has a distinct language or character,” she explains, “and the textiles l developed at Praxis will expand on how we see ‘digitally handwoven’ works and inform my future explorations of visual perception mediated by shape-shifting, dimensional textiles.”

Current grad student Viraj Mithani MFA 23 PT (RISD’s graduate Kirloskar fellow in painting) used his SPUR funding for a two-week trip to Egypt, where he studied ancient hieroglyphics at archaeological sites in Giza and Saqqara and in museums in Cairo. The research trip and site visits were planned with the help of Brown University Assistant Professor of Egyptology and Assyriology Christelle Alvarez.

“Viraj is in the midst of producing a remarkable body of work that disrupts indignities of the past and imagines new narratives,” says Associate Professor Jackie Gendel, graduate program director in RISD’s Painting department. 
 
Mithani describes visiting these sites as “witnessing history come alive” and says that Egyptian hieroglyphics are unique in that in addition to being written on papyrus like other forms of ancient writing, they were also carved into the walls of stone tombs. “I was drawn to the beautiful amalgamation of humans, animals and creatures of Egyptian mythology, which remind me of Jain and Hindu folklore back home in India,” he adds. “I am attempting to build my own myths through this work.”

Undergrad student Yuqing Liu 23 SC conducted research in their home country of China. They began establishing this mutual-aid collective even before earning funding in order to create Temporary Park, a safe space for marginalized migrant and/or queer teens in the city of Shanghai. Temporary Park provides arts-related programming, community learning resources and a warm hangout space that knits together and empowers otherwise ostracized youth.

“Temporary Park started with my sharing studio space and materials with the students and grew into the radical community-building project it is today.”

SPUR awardee Yuqing Liu

“Shanghai is heavily reliant on the cheap labor of rural migrants who seek a better life in the city,” Liu explains. “Due to xenophobic city policy, most migrant students can only attend vocational schools of limited educational quality. Temporary Park started with my sharing studio space and materials with the students and grew into the radical community-building project it is today.”

Grad student Ann Lewis MFA 23 DM is also using SPUR funding to build community, creating A Kind Word, a monument to support survivors of sexual violence and offer healing. The 14-foot structure will surround viewers with prerecorded, crowd-sourced messages of empathy and support. Lewis intends to complete the piece this spring as a traveling monument providing support to communities across the country.

“Every 68 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted,” she says. “The impact of sexual violence is exponential, affecting survivors and their relationships with the world, their bodies, families, friends, and colleagues. I envision A Kind Word as a monument to unsolicited kindness and its ability to transform the world.”

RISD’s director of research, Soul Brown, says that each of these projects reflects the ability of art and design to change the world. “SPUR Fund projects exemplify what artists and designers can bring to challenging discourses and societal issues,” she adds. “I continue to be amazed by the awardees’ passion, ideas and willingness to act courageously.”

—Simone Solondz

March 23, 2023