RISD’s Continuing Education division partners with multiple nonprofits to support BIPOC youth interested in pursuing careers in art and design.
The mission of RISD’s Continuing Education (CE) division is “to provide an immersive and innovative art and design education for everyone, at all stages of life and all levels of experience.” That commitment to accessibility has been bolstered in recent months by a number of new relationships with outside organizations providing scholarships for historically underrepresented students.
“Diversifying CE’s student population is part of a larger institutional effort to increase overall diversity in support of RISD’s Social Equity and Inclusion Action Plan,” says CE Executive Director Sarah Caggiano.
New scholarships supporting students of color are now available from Crafting the Future, a nonprofit dedicated to diversifying the fields of art, craft and design by connecting BIPOC artists with opportunities that will help them thrive; Creatives Want Change, an organization working to cultivate Black creative talent beginning at the high school level and continuing into early professional development; and the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter, RI, whose mission is to educate the public about Indigenous history, culture and arts.
Work (above) by Continuing Ed student Andrew Bruce created for Experiential Drawing (detail).
Original article published 08/11/2021