Hillel O’Leary is a sculptor, installation artist, educator and multidisciplinary designer living and working in Providence, RI. Their work has been recognized nationally and internationally, including in the recent Newport Museum of Art Biennial. In addition to teaching in RISD's Industrial Design department, Hillel has recently conducted research in the fields of site-specific installation and sculpture in the US national park system, and in cultural sites in Italy and Spain. They are currently co-developing a series of audience-focused public works that expand access to decolonized history-making. Hillel is an art community collaborator, creative director and project facilitator. They are an active partner with several local nonprofit art organizations, including the Outsider Collective, Providence Children’s Museum, Downcity Design, and the Wurks, a collective they have helped lead since 2011.
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
ID 20ST-02 - SPECIAL TOPIC DESIGN STUDIO
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ID 20ST-02
SPECIAL TOPIC DESIGN STUDIO
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: M | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Hillel O'LearyLocation(s): Bayard Ewing Building, Room 112Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors were first conceptualized as story-based empathy-building devices by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, a renowned scholar in the field of sociologically engaged inclusive literature. Windows represent the possibility of looking into another world, or another person’s experience. Mirrors represent the ways in which we might see ourselves reflected in the content or characters of a story. Sliding glass doors are emblematic of opportunities to not only view, but to step inside and inhabit an experience from a new perspective. In this course, we will delve into concept, form, and practice in order to analyze and critique objects, systems, and practices that surround us within the built environment. Through making, research, and experimentation, students will engage with essential critical concepts including restorative history, decoloniality, representation, and advocacy as they pursue projects that help us to envision designed experiences that are more just.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Industrial Design Students.
Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design
ID 247G-01 - GRADUATE THESIS STUDIO I
LevelGraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 6
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ID 247G-01
GRADUATE THESIS STUDIO I
LevelGraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
PeriodFall 2024
Credits6
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM; TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Ayako Maruyama, Hillel O'LearyLocation(s): Center for Integrative Technologies, Room 217Enrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course introduces the Graduate Thesis project starting with the development of a research question through secondary research reading methods. This question has its assumptions articulated and verified through experimental making and primary research methods that engage specific audiences for qualitative discourse.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate Industrial Design Students.
Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design
ID 247G-02 - GRADUATE THESIS STUDIO I
LevelGraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 6
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ID 247G-02
GRADUATE THESIS STUDIO I
LevelGraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
PeriodFall 2024
Credits6
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM; TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Ayako Maruyama, Hillel O'LearyLocation(s): Center for Integrative Technologies, Room 217Enrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course introduces the Graduate Thesis project starting with the development of a research question through secondary research reading methods. This question has its assumptions articulated and verified through experimental making and primary research methods that engage specific audiences for qualitative discourse.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate Industrial Design Students.
Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design
Spring 2025 Courses
ID 2451-02 - METAL I
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ID 2451-02
METAL I
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
PeriodSpring 2025
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: T | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PMInstructor(s): Hillel O'LearyLocation(s): Industrial Design Building, Room 200Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course gives the student a hands-on opportunity to develop design skills through the interaction with industrial materials that have strictly defined properties. Experimenting with these materials and the processes by which they are manipulated and formed promotes innovative thinking, problem solving and idea development. Students will achieve a more precise, professional and sensitive approach to design while broadening their technical skill base.
Enrollment is limited to Sophomore Industrial Design Students.
