Exhibition tour

Shahzia Sikander: Extraordinary Realities Jan Howard Curator Curator Jan Howard speaks with the artist about work in each of the exhibition's four sections tracing Sikander's artistic journey as she moved from Lahore, to Providence, to Houston and New York during the foundational years of her practice between 1987-2003. The themes and techniques discussed continue to resonate in Sikander's work today.

Photography and Race: Blackness and The Self

A Pedagogical Model College Educators Faculty Teaching Jane'a Johnson's students explore how blackness is created and recreated as a visual phenomenon in self-directed essays drawing on museum visits and course texts

The Hypersexualization of Black People

Abena Gyampo College Student Voices RISD student Abena Gyampo traces the history of the hypersexualization of black bodies from the early 19th century to contemporary popular culture

Seeing the History of Colonialism Through Resorts

Jade Cannata College Student Voices Artist and student Jade Cannata creates a chart describing the racial demographics of three all-inclusive resorts in locations with strong historical connections to colonialism, showing the effects of history on the present

Robert Mapplethorpe's Objectification of the Black Male Body

Tito Crichton-Stuart College Student Voices RISD student Tito Crichton-Stuart analyzes Robert Mapplethorpe’s exoticisation of the black body and proposes potential acquisitions that could serve as counterpoints in the collection

An Ode to Fallen Angels Everywhere

Zaria George College Student Voices A summer intern’s written and visual re-interpretation of the gender dynamics in "The Fallen Angel," a 1968 series of photographs by Duane Michal

Confronting our Carbon Footprint

Rya Jetha College Student Voices Sustainability and the natural world Traditional museum practice has a gigantic carbon footprint. How is the RISD Museum changing its own practices in response to the climate emergency?

Maker Unknown

Ariel Hirschhorn College Student Voices Digital Initiatives intern Ariel Hirschhorn explores the “Maker” field in the museum’s database to examine the collection from a programmer’s perspective