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Rhode Island School of Design and Swarovski Partner for Wintersession 2012 Studio
12/22/2011
Collaboration Includes Lectures
and Studio Visits by
Renowned Artists Rashaad Newsome,
Heather Rowe and Alyson Shotz
PROVIDENCE, RI – Swarovski
crystal company professes a straightforward goal – to “add sparkle to people’s
everyday lives.” Now, through an immersive sponsored studio course at Rhode
Island School of Design (RISD), the company is inviting art students to enhance
that sparkle by creating innovative fine art made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.
The class will begin the first week of the new year with a
trip to Swarovski US headquarters in Cranston, RI, where students will be
introduced to the history, materials, philosophy and technical capabilities of
the company. Throughout the six-week winter semester, well-known contemporary
artists will visit RISD, giving evening lectures and sharing ideas with
students who are exploring the myriad possibilities – both formal and
metaphorical – of working with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.
Swarovski / RISD Fine Arts Wintersession Lectures
Rashaad
Newsome of Marlborough Gallery, NYC
RISD’s Metcalf
Auditorium | Chace Center | 20 North Main Street | Providence, RI
Thursday, January
5, 5PM
Heather Rowe ofD’amelio Terras, NYC
RISD’s Metcalf
Auditorium | Chace Center | 20 North Main Street | Providence, RI
Thursday, January
12, 6PM
Alyson Shotz of Derek
Eller Gallery, NYC
RISD’s College
Building | Room 412 | 236 Benefit Street | Providence, RI
Thursday, January
19, 6PM
All lectures are
free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
Led by RISD Painting Critic Mary Jones, the intensive
Wintersession workshop will offer students from diverse majors an experimental,
hands-on approach to working with new materials and techniques to realize their
concepts. Finished pieces will utilize a wide range of SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, from
chandelier materials and figurines to beads, crystal thread and crystal
appliqué.
The class will culminate in a curated exhibition of student
work to be shown at Swarovski’s US headquarters.
“Ranging from hip-hop bling to the sublime geometry of
abstraction – all can be encompassed with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS,” notes Professor Holly
Hughes, head of RISD’s Painting Department.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Swarovski on this
studio and this series of public lectures with world-class visiting artists,”
says RISD’s Dean of Fine Arts Anais Missakian. “The partnership will enable fine
arts students to explore the possibilities of using this multifaceted material
in new and innovative ways.”
“Swarovski has a long history of support and commitment to
the art and design communities as well as nurturing the next generation of
talent. We are excited to see how these
artists and designers interpret our mission in their own innovative way using
SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS & GEMS. Having our US headquarters based in Rhode
Island, we are also proud to continue collaborating with a local institution
that has global reach – the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design,” said
Daniel Cohen, Executive Board Member & President, Swarovski US Holdings.
About Rhode Island
School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has earned an international
reputation as the leading college of art and design in the United States.
Approximately 2,400 students from around the world study at RISD, pursuing
full-time bachelor’s or master’s degree programs in a choice of 19 studio
majors. RISD is known for its phenomenal faculty of
artists and designers, the breadth of its specialized facilities and its
hands-on, studio-based approach to learning – one in which critical thinking
informs making works by hand. Required courses in the liberal arts provide an
essential complement to studio work, enabling graduates to become critical and
informed individuals eager to engage with the world. Through the
accomplishments of its 26,000 alumni, the college champions the vital role artists and
designers play in satisfying the global demand for innovation. Founded in 1877, RISD (pronounced “RIZ-dee”) and the RISD Museum of Art help make Providence, RI among
the most culturally active and creative cities in the region. For more
information visit www.risd.edu
About Swarovski
In 1895, Daniel Swarovski,
a Bohemian inventor and visionary, moved to the village of Wattens, Tyrol in
Austria, with his newly-invented machine for cutting and polishing crystal
jewelry stones. From this beginning that revolutionized the fashion world,
Swarovski has grown to be the world’s leading producer of precision-cut crystal
for fashion, jewelry and more recently lighting, architecture and interiors.
Today, the company,still
family-owned and run by 4th and 5th generation family members, has a global
reach with some 23,000 employees, a presence in over 120 countries and a
turnover in 2010 of 2.06 billion Euros. Swarovski comprises two major
businesses, one producing and selling loose elements to the industry and the
other creating design-driven finished products. Swarovski crystals have become
an essential ingredient of international design. Since 1965 the company has
also catered to the fine jewelry industry with precision- cut
genuine gemstones and created stones. Showing the
creativity that lies at the heart of the company, Swarovski’s own brand lines
of accessories, jewelry and home décor itemsare sold through more than 1,900 retail outlets
worldwide. The Swarovski Crystal Society has close to 325,000 members across
the world, keen collectors of the celebrated crystal figurines. And in Wattens,
Swarovski Kristallwelten, the multi-media crystal museum, was opened in 1995 as
a celebration of Swarovski’s universe of innovation and inspiration.