RISD Free-for-All

Despite the dismal forecast on Saturday, Matt and I ventured into Providence to visit a few of my favorite places, one of which is the RISD Museum of Art.  The event we attended was called Animate This!  Visitors were invited to explore different animation techniques, and while I don't fancy myself an artist I wanted to see what I could learn from the various workshops.  We wandered into an exhibition room (Paul Morrison's Exine) full of elementary school aged kids and were handed flip books designed by a RISD grad, Melissa Meyer.  I colored for about seven minutes but quickly realized I didn't want to spend the entire three hour visit with a marker in hand, so we pocketed our books and moved on.

Next we visited Subject to Change: Art and Design in the Twentieth Century, an exhibit that sought to compare art and design and the way both have changed over the years through advances in technology.  Work by Henri Matisse, Frank Lloyd Wright, Andy Warhol, and many others was on display from the Museum's permanent collection.  We continued to wander (it can be confusing to find one's way around) and came upon an exhibit titled Nature/Artifice: Contemporary Works from the Collection.  My favorite piece was Tony Capellan's Mar Caribe, a collection of blue flip flops that had washed up along the shore of the Ozama River in the Dominican Republic.  They were arranged to look like the ocean, but each strap was replaced with barbed wire and meant to evoke a sense of the struggle of Capellan's countrymen.

(image via Dominicana Online)

While members receive free admission throughout the year, the RISD Museum holds hours that are free and open to the public.  The last Saturday of the month is called Free-for-All Saturday (the event Matt and I attended) and it often includes workshops, performances, and gallery activities.  Admission to any and all of the exhibits is free from 11 am to 4 pm.  The Museum also participates in Gallery Night, an event held on the third Thursday of each month (excluding December, January, and February) from 5 to 9 pm.  It's an introduction to the Providence art scene and a great night in the City.  Art buffs and novices alike can explore local galleries, join workshops, and meet artists and curators.  Lastly, on Sundays from 10 am to 1 pm the Museum opens its doors and patrons can pay whatever they choose.  Take advantage of this opportunity to support the Museum while taking in all there is to see there.  Learn more about other public programs hosted at the Museum here.

(Me inside Carey Young's exhibit, Uncertain Contracts)