June 2024 Newsletter
Dear Alumni,
Moments of joy come in many forms, from reconnecting with old friends and reminiscing about shared experiences to opening a fresh sketchbook and feeling the excitement of embarking on something new. This year's Commencement + Reunion Weekend brought many moments like these together, and our RISD community felt the jubilation and celebration in every corner of campus.
As always, RISD Craft was a highlight of the weekend. The community took advantage of the sunny skies and warm temperatures to browse the incredible work of our alumni artists, designers and makers. It gives me great pleasure to announce that visitors voted Ian Henderson 02 JM (Zoa Chimerum Jewelry) winner of the People’s Choice Award, and our jurors recognized Lia Kang 20 PT with the Best Emerging Artist award.
Although I could not join you on campus, I was happy to hear from many of you how much you enjoyed the festivities. From the Commencement ceremony and the Artists Party to the Black Alumni Reunion, class events and more, the energy on campus was one of heartfelt connection and inspiring creativity—moments of joy that will last a lifetime.
For our recent graduates, Commencement + Reunion Weekend was the culmination of your RISD studies. Your final days on campus will always hold special significance. Although these moments often feel like endings, I hope you can see them for what they are: first steps on a journey of possibilities. I am honored to welcome you to our alumni community and I am proud of all you have accomplished so far. I hope that you continue to engage with RISD. Whether you attend an event, connect with alumni who share your interests through an affinity group, or return to campus in 2026 for your 2-year reunion, there are many opportunities to stay involved. I encourage you to keep us up to date on your life after RISD. The Alumni Association is here to support you wherever your journey takes you.
Kind regards,
Rex Wong BArch 03
President, RISD Alumni Association
PS. On a personal note, I wanted to share with all of you one of my moments of joy this year, welcoming my daughter, born in May.
In Their Own Words
Our 2024 Alumni Association Award recipients, Elizabeth Whelan 91 TX, Moon Jung Jang MFA 08 GD, Gail Ahlers 85 JM and Hanson Cheng BArch 16, share what it meant to be honored by their peers.
Welcome to the Alumni Association
Congratulations, Class of 2024! We are proud to have you join our global community of over 31,000 RISD alumni. The Alumni Association is here to support your journey wherever it may lead, and we can’t wait to see what you do next.
Download Your Reunion Class Photos
Reconnecting with classmates is one of the greatest feelings, and it was wonderful to see so many of you gathering together and sharing your memories of RISD. Now, you can take a piece of Reunion Weekend home with you by visiting your class page on the alumni website to download your reunion class picture.
Reunion Weekend 2024 in Photos
We had so much fun celebrating Reunion Weekend 2024. The weekend was filled with so many special moments that it was hard to capture them all! You can access photo galleries of our time together with password risd1877
Alumni Magazine Summer 2024
In this issue, we turn robotics upside down in the Andes, sail away on the future of yacht design, and meet alumni exploring the concept of home, breaking down barriers and making playtime a full-time job.
RISD Summer Welcomes
Hosted by local RISD regional clubs, friends and families, our Summer Welcomes invite alumni, current students & families to join them in welcoming incoming students and their families into the RISD community.
Dorner Prize: soft presence, hard absence
On view through September 15
This installation by artist Linda Sok MFA 25 SC, winner of the 2024 Dorner Prize, encourages viewers to reconsider the conventions of collections and storage and invites conversations around inaccessibility within standard museum practices.
RISD Reads: Summer 2024 Book Selection
Dive into your summer reading list with our latest RISD Reads book selection, Bianca Bosker’s Get the Picture: A Mind-bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See.
RISD Trek Heads to NYC
An annual collaboration between the RISD Alumni Association, Institutional Advancement and the Career Center, this year’s trek students will explore the fine arts world in New York City through engagement with artist studios, galleries, community arts nonprofits, artist residency programs, arts incubators and museums. If you are interested in learning about how you can be involved, please email alumni@risd.edu.
RISD Students Present Final Projects to Peers, Professors and Visiting Critics
Critique is an integral part of RISD’s pedagogy. The ability to give and receive constructive criticism and then integrate that feedback into the next iteration of a project serves artists, designers and scholars long after they’ve graduated.
Fleet Library Alumni Collection
The RISD Alumni Collection celebrates RISD’s creative publishing community. The collection currently contains more than four hundred titles, including books and other materials, and spans a wide range of subjects.
Make Your Gift Before June 30
Our students depend on the generosity of donors like you to ensure they can make the most of their time on campus. From textbooks to materials, financial aid to conference fees, donor support makes a difference for every one of our students.
