Topics in Exhibition is an intensive studio course at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Variously a group critique, an idea accelerator, a collective curatorial experience, an expression of a single thematic idea in diverse media and a workshop in which to formally refine visual and material concepts, Topics in Exhibition offers students an opportunity to design and produce a multidisciplinary exhibition for the international stage.

Comprised of 20 students from seven distinct disciplines including Ceramics, Furniture Design, Glass, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture, and Textiles, the 2024 Topics in Exhibition course explores our ever-evolving relationship to—and experience of—the interior. Co-directed by Anais Missakian (Pevaroff-Cohn Family Endowed Chair in Textiles) and Pete Oyler (Associate Professor, Furniture Design), the resulting exhibition—Objects May Shift—is part of the 2024 Satellite Salone at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy.

A prompt to recontextualize the ordinary and find surprise in the unexpected, Objects May Shift is a curious and critical exploration of how our world and the ways that we inhabit it are changing. From graphic design to art, furniture and textiles, the exhibition foregrounds creative flux and transgresses disciplinary tradition. A variable typeface is scaled to excess, skewed and outlined; an upholstered seat inflates to become a wall; a cabinet is made from a dresser; and a woven Jacquard tapestry pairs AI-generated imagery with images of wealth, hoarding and trash. The exhibition is as imaginative and optimistic as it is sobering. 

The production of Objects May Shift was a highly collaborative effort and we would like to thank everyone who helped bring this exhibition to life. Special thanks to: the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Divisions of Fine Arts and Architecture and Design, and the Office of Graduate Studies.