Art + Design Education audio slideshow

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High school students in urban public school districts often face tremendous obstacles to attending college: limited guidance, information and resources can leave teens inadequately prepared to apply and compete for admission. To address these challenges through the arts, RISD’s Department of Art + Design Education established Project Open Door, a free, after-school college preparation program that provides studio education and a wealth of support services to low-income teenagers in urban schools. Students who make a commitment of time, effort and enthusiasm for art and design receive high-quality studio experiences, individual mentoring, guidance through the college application process and exposure to campus life. By focusing on the mentor relationship, explains Program Manager Nancy Safian, the initiative provides teens with a “spectrum of opportunities fashioned to meet their changing individual needs” through four years of high school.

Established in 2004 by Paul Sproll, professor and head of Art + Design Education, and a team of directors from RISD Continuing Education, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and The RISD Museum of Art, Project Open Door has engaged more than 300 young people in after-school and summertime art and design programs. Most of the teenagers are from high schools around Rhode Island, including the program’s partner schools — Hope High School, Feinstein High School, Davies Career & Technical High School and Blackstone Academy Charter School. A number of students from around the country also receive scholarship support to attend RISD’s Summer Pre-College Program, run by RISD Continuing Education.

Project Open Door’s challenging studio curriculum encourages teens to develop high-quality portfolios that will improve their chances of being admitted to college. The ultimate objective, Sproll explains, is “to help students uncover their talents so that they can attend the specialty or liberal arts college of their choice.” Studio work is just part of the picture, though, as participants also present their creations in gallery exhibitions, experience critiques with established artists, and explore RISD’s museum, nature lab and library. For some teenagers, the creative and supportive environment is the biggest draw of all — simply “being around other artists lifted my spirit and helped my art,” one program alumnus reflected.

The success of Project Open Door is already clear: more than 80 percent of teens return to the program from one year to the next, and 35 of its alumni entered college last year. These promising results are due in part to the work of the 25 graduate and undergraduate RISD students who work as mentors each year. For these students, the rewards are mutual: “Through the after-school program I was able to spend one-on-one time with each high school student,” one RISD Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) candidate pointed out. “Working in the after-school program was an ideal first-time teaching experience.”