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/
