RISD’s “It Starts with a Question” Interview Series Begins with Artist RaMell Ross

“My practice is driven by a quest to make meaningful images,” says multidisciplinary artist and RISD alum RaMell Ross MFA 14 PH. “Freedom for me is about working toward expressing my genuine beliefs, rather than what the cultural zeitgeist has programmed me to believe.”

Ross recently sat down with RISD President Crystal Williams in the President’s House to discuss his worldview as a creative and how, in Williams’ words, “his unique life experiences shape the way he moves through the world.”

The award-winning artist, filmmaker, writer, and “liberated documentarian” is the first subject in a series of video interviews just launched called It Starts with a Question. The series explores emerging issues in arts, culture, and higher education and reflects RISD’s role as a nexus of innovative ideas, where global perspectives are welcomed, celebrated, and shared. It features Williams in conversation with thought leaders, art and design luminaries, and other notable creatives and changemakers. 

“Freedom for me is about working toward expressing my genuine beliefs, rather than what the cultural zeitgeist has programmed me to believe.”

Artist RaMell Ross

Rooted in curiosity, these conversations touch on the lived experiences of each guest that shape their perspectives and growth as they explore and reflect upon the world around them. The title of the series illustrates RISD’s approach to inspiring young creatives and the way that curiosity generates new ideas, inspiration, and development.

“Artists, designers, and creative entrepreneurs transform the world,” says Williams. “Through dialogue, we come to better understand each other—our needs, desires, and dreams—and in so doing, make vital connections, unearth dynamic possibilities, and move toward each other with grace.”

Ross is best known for his potent exploration of the Black experience in the American South. After earning his MFA in Photography at RISD, he went on to create an experimental documentary called Hale County This Morning, This Evening, which won a Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and a 2020 Peabody Award. It was nominated for an Oscar at the 91st Academy Awards and an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Film.

He then co-wrote and directed an impressionistic, nonlinear adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel, The Nickel Boys, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2025. In his recent conversation with Williams, Ross explains that his early-career decision to make work solely about the state of Alabama was a political statement but also a creative constraint that he was ready to leave behind.

A former professional basketball player, Ross says his life as a serious athlete is where he learned to build skills through practice. He currently serves as an associate professor of visual art at Brown University and notes that despite the accolades his work has amassed, he still has some of the same concerns and insecurities as the students he teaches.

“I’m trying to get to a place where I’m not as self-critical and care less about how people interpret my work,” Ross notes near the end of his conversation with Williams.

As the series continues, Williams will engage with a wide range of creative thinkers, including Cuban-born artist and 2025 Honorary Degree recipient María Magdalena Campos-Pons; mixed-media artist, RISD alum, and Honorary Degree recipient Rose B. Simpson MFA 11 CR; and celebrated graphic novelist Brian Selznick 88 IL, author and illustrator of many books for children, including the Caldecott medal-winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Visit the series playlist on RISD’s YouTube channel to watch the first interview.

Simone Solondz
October 6, 2025