If you happen to have graduated during a year ending in 2 or 7, this years reunion weekend is a significant one for you. Save the Date for RISD By Design Alumni Reunion + Parents Weekend 2012, taking place this year on October 5 - 7 all over the RISD campus. Don’t worry if you aren’t a 2 or 7, we want you all here!

RISD Sale October 2011 photo by Steven Rosen 81 IL

1. EMAIL all your classmates and let them know how much it would mean to you to see them (you can get a list from the Alumni Relations (AR) office).

2. CALL all your classmates and let them know how much it would mean to you to see them (you can get a list from the Alumni Relations (AR) office).

3. WRITE to all your classmates and let them know how much it would mean to you to see them ( you can get a list from the Alumni Relations (AR) office).

4. CREATE a Facebook page for your class and invite your RISD friends to post photos and make plans for the weekend.

Did you know you can plan special events - a private campus tour, drawing class, etc. - just for you class?  Contact Claire Robinson at crobinso**at**risd.edu or 401.454.6379 to find out how.

Reunion 2011 photo by Jennifer Garza-Cuen MFA 10 PH

RISD CONNECT - Alumni Video Wall Project

On Friday and Saturday be sure to check out the launch of RISD CONNECT in locations throughout the campus!

It’s an entirely new way for alumni to offer career advice, entrepreneurial insights and creative inspiration. Alumni respond to questions through video and text submissions that are seen by other RISD alumni, students and the world. RISD CONNECT allows everyone to gain career advice, learn about career paths, hear creative inspiration, and experience life after RISD.

Locations
Chace Center Lobby - 10am-5pm Friday, 8am-4pm Saturday
Carr House, 1st Conference Rm - 1-4pm Friday, 12-4pm Saturday
Career Center - 1-4pm Friday & Saturday
Waterman Building, Rm 11 - 1-4pm Saturday Only

How To Participate
For alumni, simply pick a question to answer at the RISD CONNECT site. Decide if you’ll record a video or submit a text response. Now tell the world what’s on your mind! Your involvement will help to build an extraordinary collection of career experiences that are unique to RISD. For students, parents and everyone, simply pick a question and check out the video and text responses that truly highlight life after RISD.

Sneak Peak
HTTP://CONNECT.RISD.EDU

If you’re around on Thursday, October 13th, waiting for the weekend to start, check out the RISD Museum’s amazing evening slate of goings-on!

Full listing here, but a few events pasted below to give you a taste of the awesome line-up!

The RISD Museum After Dark
Thursday, October 13, 2011, 6–10pm
A night at the Museum for college faculty and students throughout the region. Performances, talks, and art-making create opportunities to get to know the collections and each other. Free admission with college ID

Local Fare + Live Music
6–9:45 pm | Grand Gallery, 5th fl
Ruthy Moonshine and the Ruckus Boys | 6-7:30 pm
Bluegrass inspired foot-stopping with Elena Flores (RISD ’12) and friends perform

Celadour | 7:30-9 pm
Alternative/indie-type music with Erica Ehrenbard, RISD Sculpture 2012, Melanie Steinway, Illustration 2012 + Sarah Louise Neal, Sculpture 2013

Screening: RISD Student Films
6–10 pm | Danforth Hall
This compilation of RISD Film/Animation/Video student work showcases an eclectic mix of stories and visuals. Check out short films from the next generation of filmmakers and animators. Co-sponsored by RISD’s Film, Animation, + Video Department.

Hands-On Art
6–9:30 pm | Museum galleries
All materials provided, no experience necessary.
Retro Postcard Production | Fain Gallery, 3rd fl
Café Sketching | Grand Gallery, 5th fl

The Locked Room
6:30-8 pm | Michael P. Metcalf Auditorium
In 1969, a group of faculty at Saint Martins School of Art in London initiated an alternative to the convention of art education and quickly achieved notoriety. Dispensing with student evaluations or deadlines, and with limited verbal communication, the “A” Course has become legendary. Gareth Jones, RISD Foundations Professor, and Garth Evans, Head of Sculpture at the New York Studio School, discuss their roles conceiving, structuring, and realizing the program. A short film depicting the start of the “A” Course will be screened. This program is presented in conjunction with the Made in the UK: Contemporary Art from the Richard Brown Baker Collection. Co-sponsored by RISD’s Teaching + Learning in Art + Design Department. Reservations recommended, email reservations@risd.edu.

Greetings from RISD!
My name is Latrelle Rostant and I am an architecture graduate student at RISD and an Activity Coordinator of BAAD:  Black Artist And Designers. Formed in 2008, BAAD is committed to celebrating the multicultural diversity of black culture at RISD and creating community for students of color.

Many people, past and present, have publicly and privately supported students of color during their time at RISD.  BAAD plans to acknowledge one of these people; I am proud to announce that as part of RISD By Design Weekend ‘11, we will celebrate and honor the late Mahler Ryder. Mahler was a passionate advocate for access and equality for students of color during his time at RISD.  We warmly invite you to join us as we acknowledge the legacy of Mahler Ryder through a formal brunch, program, and curated exhibition of his work.  The brunch will be held on Sunday, October 16 from 11am-1:30pm.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Mahler Rhyer attended the Columbus College of Art and Design and Ohio State University, completing his studies at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts in New York City.  A painter, sculptor and accomplished jazz musician, Mahler was a founding member of the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1968. He joined the RISD community in 1969 as a professor in the Illustration department. During Mahler’s twenty three years at RISD, he challenged students to constantly seek creative excellence and technical integrity. Similarly, he devoutly challenged institutional and societal systems to live up to their democratic promise for all people.  Mahler led the successful efforts to create a marker for the gravesite of painter Edward Bannister in Providence.  Both in 1972 and 1973, he was an artist-in- residence at the MacDowell Colony. In 1973, Mahler received a fellowship-grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and exhibited a one-man show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Mahler’s love of jazz became a major influence on his work, which he termed as a “visual response to music.” He produced three series: “Jazz Piano”, “Homage to the Guitar” and “Jazz”, some of of which is part of the Smithsonian Institute’s permanent collection and was included of the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition titled “Jazz.” Mahler’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States, Canada and Europe,  has hung in the office of Robert F. Kennedy, and remains well received at select galleries.

We hope you will join us at this gathering, and come prepared to share stories of your time at RISD. This celebration is a time to reconnect and support the efforts of BAAD as we hope to strengthen campus diversity.  We encourage those of you who can’t be with us to reconnect by contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at oma@risd.edu or BAAD at BAAD@risd.edu to discuss what’s happening.

Because Mahler Ryder was an influential force in the education of all the students he taught, we hope you’ll share a thought or a short story about Mahler by sending a few sentences to diverse@risd.edu.  We are working on various venues though which to remember and document Mahler’s impact.

Please register for this event, or attend virtually via facebook streaming.  Regardless of your ability to attend this event, BAAD and The Office of Multicultural Affairs welcome your involvement.

Thank you and we hope to see you at this event.

Latrelle Rostant, BFA Textiles ‘03; M.Arch ‘12

Alumni of Color Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/239010699472941/
OMA Website: http://risdoma.wordpress.com/about-oma/

Sure, you can do it next week, but if you get your registration in before midnight on September 23, you’ll pay $55 per person for the reunion dinners.  After that, cost for the dinners goes up to $65. The weekend registration fee of $25 and all fees for workshops will remain the same. So stop procrastinating and register now!

The RISD offices of Alumni Relations, Multicultural Affairs, Illustration and Campus Exhibitions have teamed up to sponsor an event during RBD weekend that will pay tribute to the life and legacy of the late Mahler B. Ryder, RISD Professor of Illustration (1969-1992). A painter, sculptor, and jazz musician, Mahler Ryder was an instrumental figure in the education of RISD students. Join us in a salute to Ryder’s artistic achievements, his passionate advocacy for artists of color, and his enduring commitment to democracy for all people.

Mahler Ryder Exhibition
A weekend exhibition remembering the life and artwork of Mahler Ryder
Friday, October 14 to Sunday, October 16 — 8am to 5pm daily
RISD Ewing Multicultural Center
41 Waterman Street

Mahler Ryder Brunch Tribute
Reflections and acknowledgements of the Mahler Ryder legacy
Sunday, October 16, 2011 — 11am to 12:30pm
236 Benefit Street, Providence, RI

The events are free, but registration is required for the Brunch by October 7 at rbd.risd.edu/register.

Granted, it was an unusual choice for a summer read - but a perfect one for RISD! In case you didn’t know, the class of 2015 was assigned H.P.Lovecraft’s book, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, as part of RISD’s Common Reading Program this summer. The city of Providence, in particular those areas close to campus, are featured prominently throughout this classic horror tale featuring a protagonist who is driven insane by a journey that leads him into a world of sorcerers and the occult.

This year, we are offering a tour of H.P.Lovecraft’s Providence on Saturday October 15 (see schedule of events). So grab that book before your student heads out the door, have yourself a scary read, and watch it come to life as you walk around Providence during the RBD weekend!

If you are interested, here’s more reading on RISD’s Common Reading Program.