Hillel O'Leary

Critic

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
Level Undergraduate
Unit Industrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

ID 20ST-02

SPECIAL TOPIC DESIGN STUDIO

Level Undergraduate
Unit Industrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: M | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Hillel O'Leary Location(s): Bayard Ewing Building, Room 112 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: 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
Level Graduate
Unit Industrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

ID 247G-01

GRADUATE THESIS STUDIO I

Level Graduate
Unit Industrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM; TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Ayako Maruyama, Hillel O'Leary Location(s): Center for Integrative Technologies, Room 217 Enrolled / Capacity: 12 Status: 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
Level Graduate
Unit Industrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

ID 247G-02

GRADUATE THESIS STUDIO I

Level Graduate
Unit Industrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM; TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Ayako Maruyama, Hillel O'Leary Location(s): Center for Integrative Technologies, Room 217 Enrolled / Capacity: 12 Status: 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
Level Undergraduate
Unit Industrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

ID 2451-02

METAL I

Level Undergraduate
Unit Industrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: T | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM Instructor(s): Hillel O'Leary Location(s): Industrial Design Building, Room 200 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: 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.

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design