Project Open Door 2008 - 2009 Portfolio Program Applications Now Available!

Public high school students interested in attending RISD's free after school portfolio preparation program are invited to submit applications for our 2008-2009 program. This is the first year that applications are required. Seniors who will be applying to college in fall 2009 may apply for the Saturday college portfolio class, while 9th-12th graders may apply to the Thursday portfolio class.

All students must fill out an application and meet with the Project Open Door staff
before the fall sessions begin in October. A required weekend drawing intensive
will take place in September for all students.

All programs are free, and open to art and design students attending Rhode Island public schools. Project Open Door will offer additional classes at RISD and two high schools in the Providence/Pawtucket area. For more information,
please contact Nancy Safian at 454-6729 or nsafian@risd.edu.

In her conversation, Professor Better will discuss her book "Social Exchange: Reforming Architecture, Their Buildings," which provides a variety of new directions for architectural practices. Her book examines several case studies that refocus the cultural hierarchy of architecture on previously ignored populations. The book also investigates the potential power of overlapping social dialogue, social action, architectural culture and production.

Congratulations to our college-bound students!

From September through March, our Studio Coordinator worked intensely on college applications
with 14 teenagers from Rhode Island and an additional six students via internet from around the country. Students were accepted at the following colleges:

Art Institute of Boston
Boston University
Community College of Rhode Island
Maine College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art
Parsons
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island College
San Francisco Art Institute
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
School of Visual Arts
Syracuse University
University of Rhode Island


Thank you, Visiting Artists and Critics!

This year marked the first year that Project Open Door brought in visiting artists and critics to our school-year program. We were fortunate to have a number of RISD faculty and staff who also came in to give our students critiques: Dean Abanilla, Technology Specialist in Continuing Education, Jason Brockert, Illustration Faculty, Deborah Coolidge, Foundations Professor, Tony Johnson, Director of Multicultural Affairs, and Antonio Peters, Admissions Officer.

The teenagers also enjoyed many art and design units led by RISD faculty and community artists. Students had workshops in ceramics, photo collage, book design, stop motion animation, drawing, sculpture and graphic design.


Foundation Studies Welcomes Project Open Door

Project Open Door Portfolio Prep students were given the opportunity to participate in a final critique for Three-Dimensional Design with Professor Deborah Coolidge.  After weeks of designing and constructing cardboard boats, Coolidge's students shared their process and projects with our local high school students.  Once the POD students returned to the studio,
they designed their own cardboard boats on a smaller scale.


Congratulations Summer 2008 Young Artist and Pre-College Scholarship Recipients!
 
Each year, the Department of Continuing Education distributes scholarships to a diverse group of low-income high school students from Rhode Island and around the country to participate in its summer programs. This summer, 37 students were awarded scholarships to pre-college, RISD's intensive residency program: there will be nine students from Rhode Island attending.  Continuing Education offered another15 Rhode Island students awards to attend its Young Artist program.  The Young Artist Scholars receive tuition for two summer classes.