Rhode Island School of Design to Offer Institution’s First-Ever Tattooing Course

Alum Adam Krueger will teach the Illustration course Introduction to Tattooing, which aims to introduce students to tattooing as a recognized art form and viable career path 

PROVIDENCE, RI – August 19, 2025 – This fall, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) will offer a course on the art of tattooing for the first time in the institution’s history. Introduction to Tattooing will be taught by alum Adam Krueger 04 IL, a painter and tattoo artist dedicated to honoring the cultural legacy of tattoo art and to exploring its potential as a medium and career path for illustrators and fine artists. The course, offered through RISD’s Illustration department, will explore the rich history and sociocultural implications of the art form, along with the necessary technical expertise. 

“RISD’s Illustration department has always remained nimble in response to new markets for illustrators, and we take pride in our unique, broad-based curriculum,” says Illustration Department Head Robert Brinkerhoff. “Illustration is about the communication of ideas and information and represents a vital element of visual culture. RISD students have access to courses in everything from academic drawing and painting to virtual reality, and they enter the professional field with the ability to shift eloquently between several areas of practice.”

Over the course of the fall semester, students will explore both the technical and conceptual dimensions of tattooing—ranging from the global history and cultural significance of the art form to practical experience within the modern tattoo industry. Students will learn to transform the human body into a dynamic canvas for personal expression and cultural dialogue.

As an immersive introduction to the field, the course blends theory with hands-on practice, enabling students to create original tattoo designs that consider real-world applications. Projects are designed to challenge students creatively and technically, encouraging them to draw from existing styles while blending, adapting and advancing these influences into unique, personal works of art.

Students will develop not only their artistic abilities but also gain technical proficiency in equipment handling, machine setup, maintenance and operation. They will learn the proper use of needles and inks to produce clean, smooth linework and detailed shading—practiced on synthetic silicone skin. Additionally, students will study skin structure, different skin tones, healing processes and essential sanitation protocols to ensure future client safety and comfort.

“There is a direct through line from the core coursework Illustration students focus on at RISD—drawing, painting and visual concepts—to art forms like tattooing,” says Brinkerhoff. “One of the hallmarks of our program is our openness to the broad array of markets for illustrators. When Adam came to me with the idea, I had to find a way to make it happen, to recognize tattooing as a contemporary art form, academic discipline and viable career option.”

“I’m excited to return to RISD to teach in the Illustration department this fall as part of this transformative moment—a bold new chapter in integrating tattooing into the world of contemporary art, design and higher education. This is not only groundbreaking, but long overdue,” says Krueger.

Krueger adds, “Tattooing has been going through a real renaissance, and we’re so excited to contribute to its continued evolution through this new course, while preserving dynamic tattoo traditions. It’s one of the most electric, personal and imaginative forms of artmaking today. This program is an opportunity to explore what tattooing is, what it has been, and—more importantly—what it can become. When registration opened last spring, the course filled within hours, with a long waitlist. That level of enthusiasm reinforces the idea that students crave diverse opportunities to make art with focused attention on materiality. And there’s no medium more material than tattooing, no canvas more real than the human body.”

About Rhode Island School of Design
RISD (pronounced “RIZ-dee”) is a creative community founded in 1877 in Providence, Rhode Island. Today, we enroll 2,518 students hailing from 57 countries. Led by a committed faculty, they are engaged in 44 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