Rhode Island School of Design Announces 150th Anniversary Celebration

Founded in 1877 on the belief that art and design matter to everyone, programming will honor the forward-looking spirit of RISD’s founders and celebrate new generations of creative leaders 

PROVIDENCE, RI – April 7, 2026 – Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is pleased to announce a yearlong celebration of the institution’s 150th anniversary. RISD was founded on the belief that art and design matter to everyone. Limitless Vision, the 150th anniversary commemoration, will celebrate the forward-looking spirit of RISD’s founders and the way it continues to inspire new generations of creative leaders.

Festivities will kick off in fall 2026 and take place throughout 2027, both on campus and across the globe, beginning with the RISD & Sotheby’s: Auction & Celebration in New York City. In November 2026, RISD will host a landmark auction with the nonprofit arm of Sotheby’s celebrating the creative impact of alumni. Featuring works by renowned artists and designers, including alums Walton Ford 82 FAV, Tavares Strachan 03 GL, and more to be announced, this event will bring the community together to honor the talent, innovation, and influence that define RISD. All auction proceeds will support student scholarships, helping ensure the next generation of artists and designers can access a RISD education and shape the future through their practice. This auction will strengthen RISD’s capacity to expand access, deepen support for students, and invest in our community and its limitless possibilities.

The celebration will continue throughout March 2027 around RISD’s annual Founders Day. In 1877, a small group of Rhode Island women, inspired by the creative talent and industry at work in the state, invested in the creation of a school and museum of art and design. This decision, made decades before any woman had the right to vote in the US, was all the more remarkable because of the progressive nature of their vision. Rather than imagining a salon or institute for the elite, as was common at the time, RISD was intended to be broadly accessible and focus on the “general advancement of public Art Education.” Since then, RISD has grown in size and scope—welcoming talented students from all over the world who fill our studios and campus spaces with the joy and promise of making—and launching generations of creative leaders, thinkers, and doers.

The fanfare will continue at Commencement and Reunion Weekend in May 2027, and an Alumni Artists Ball is tentatively scheduled for fall 2027.

In addition, to celebrate 150 years of making, teaching, questioning, and contributing to culture and society, President Crystal Williams is launching the Presidential Project Fund, inviting every department, program, and member of the RISD community to propose activations, projects, or events that reflect what RISD means to them. More information on how to apply will be available in the coming months.

RISD has always been a shared vision. Additional celebratory events and programming, including initiatives supported by the Presidential Project Fund and special commemorative publications, will be shared on risd.edu/150, which will be updated on an ongoing basis.

About Rhode Island School of Design
RISD (pronounced “RIZ-dee”) is a creative community founded in 1877 in Providence, Rhode Island. Today, we enroll 2,577 students hailing from 60 countries. Led by a committed faculty, they are engaged in more than 40 full-time bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and supported by a worldwide network of over 33,000 alumni who demonstrate the vital role artists and designers play in today’s society.

Beyond facts and figures, what is the spirit of this community? Through a cross-disciplinary curriculum of studio-based learning and rigorous study in the liberal arts, RISD students are encouraged to develop their own personal creative processes, but they are united by one guiding principle: in order to create, one must question. In cultivating expansive and elastic thinking, RISD seeks to activate a critical exchange that empowers artists, designers and scholars to generate and challenge the ideas that shape our world. RISD’s mission, at both the college and museum, is not only to educate students and the public in the creation and appreciation of works of art and design, but to transmit that knowledge and make global contributions. Visit risd.edu to learn more.

RISD contact:
Jaime Marland
Senior Director, Public Relations / RISD
jmarland@risd.edu
401 427-6954