Beyond the Alumni Lecture Series, you might want to check out a couple of other alumni talks at RISD in the coming weeks. Author/illustrator and MacArthur Fellow David Macaulay BArch '69 will speak about his process and the challenge of creating his latest book, The Way We Work, when he delivers the Museum's Gail Silver Memorial Lecture at 6:15pm on Wednesday, October 29 in the Metcalf Auditorium (in conjunction with the current Museum show Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay). On Tuesday, November 11 photographer Emmet Gowin MFA '67 will show and talk about his work as part of the Photography Department's T.C. Colley Lecture Series, which begins at 7pm in the Metcalf Auditorium.

Painter/installation artist and MacArthur Fellow Anna Schuleit '98 PT promises to give a compelling talk as the keynote presenter at ArtSmart 2008, the biennial professional development conference sponsored by RISD Career Services. The conference, which inspires and informs RISD students and alumni about grants, residencies, exhibitions, graduate degrees and working in the arts and with communities, takes place at RISD on Saturday, November 1, and is free, though you need to register in advance.

A recent New York Times "Home" section article called "Thinking Like a Student: Fearless Décor" included sidebars on two RISD students for creating fun and innovative living spaces "on the cheap": Katherine Carroll '10 TX, who uses a polka-dot theme to make "her apartment upbeat and original," and Michael Kolendowicz '09 PT, an "expert recycler."

Although President John Maeda happened to be among the judges for the White House Redux competition, the student team of Arielle Assouline-Lichten MArch '11 and Wayne Congar won 3rd Prize for their design fair and square. Their proposal for White House 2.0, an "open source solution" that promotes "transparency" and ease of access, is included in the exhibition and accompanying book that have spun off of the competition.

Guerilla graphic artist Shepard Fairey '92 IL talks about the subtleties of propaganda and the state of contemporary media -- along with his experiences at RISD -- in a fascinating conversation taped for The Henry Rollins Show.

Ohio-based artist Kirk Mangus '75 CR is among the ceramics artists from throughout the country who contributed work to the new Obamaware online auction to raise funds for Barack Obama's presidential race.

"Politically, I'm against finding the single answer," notes MacArthur Fellow Josiah McElheny '88 GL in a recent New York Times Magazine article. "I'm more interested in what these questions mean to our sense of who we are." McElheny's expansive installation on the origins of the universe -- called Island Universe -- continues through mid-November at White Cube in London.

If you're able to wander through the Editions/Artists' Book Fair '08 in New York later this month (October 30-November 2), be sure to look for Cade Tompkins Editions. In addition to representing a number of RISD alumni and faculty members (including Dan Heyman, Serena Perrone MFA '06 PR, Christopher Ulivo MFA '04 PT), Tompkins will be promoting the RISD Editions print line, a collaboration between the RISD Museum of Art and the Printmaking Department to publish works by visiting artists and selected alumni.

After President Maeda waived the fee on a recent workshop he gave at the Austrian lighting company Zumtobel, the company made a generous gesture of its own -- offering RISD a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient lighting system for the Nature Lab. Click here for more on this major new enhancement to the popular RISD facility.

Now that President John Maeda has guest curated a new "select series" of shirts for the online t-shirt company Threadless, a launch party is being held on Thursday, November 6 from 7-9pm in the new Chace Center. The president invited faculty members Trent Burleson, Soojung Ham '92 ID, Nancy Skolos and Randy Willier to design Threadless Select shirts that capture the notion of "newness." Come check them out, chat with the designers and pick up your favorite design.

Heavy-hitters in the worlds of innovative design, social justice and environmental activism promise to lead a series of provocative and inspiring discussions during the Better World by Design conference hosted by RISD and Brown from November 7-9.