Focusing on Service
With financial support from RISD, Derek Russell is exploring how art and design can make a positive impact.
Derek Russell BArch 22 had to discover his own way. “Growing up, I had a hard time finding the resources I needed to develop as an artist. In Colorado Springs, which is a huge military hub, the arts are seen as an afterthought or a hobby. Schools are pipeline-focused, churning out engineers and physicians, but seldom creatives,” says Russell. He eventually turned to a local community college to learn more.
Although his cultural environment presented barriers, his physical surroundings inspired him. “Spending most of my life amidst Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and rolling plains has meant that nature has always been a crucial part of my life. The city and the wilds were synonymous to me, intertwined so closely that for a long time I could not differentiate the two,” he says.
Russell’s father was in the missile division of the US Air Force and his mother worked as a secretary in public schools. “Our family is more intellectually-oriented than artistic, but they were very supportive. They also inspired me to approach my art with a greater purpose than just self-expression. From an early age I knew that I could use art to incite change by calling attention to the problems in the world through a critical lens,” recalls Russell.
Despite strong family support, his path has not been easy. The summer before his senior year of high school, his family endured a great loss when his father passed away from cancer. “Without financial aid, RISD would not have been viable,” says Russell, who receives the Elizabeth Jones Scholarship. “This support has made it possible for me to enter the somewhat exclusive community of makers that otherwise would have been entirely foreign to me.”
Russell also has enjoyed an opportunity to spread his wings with support from the Travel Fund. “I studied with Dr. Lucy Spelman in South Africa the summer before last,
exploring the correlation between art/science and animal conservation. This experience was truly life changing,” he says. “The opportunity to remove myself from a privileged US context allowed me to more clearly see the real problems in the world.”
photos by Jo Sittenfeld MFA 08 PH
