IYRS Fall Lecture Series

Making in New England

Great craftsmanship comes in many arts and forms. In Newport, and throughout New England, we are fortunate to have many world renowned masters in a variety of fields—from furniture makers, artisans and traditional boat builders to extraordinary architects and designers working with innovative materials and technologies. Join us for our annual fall lecture series featuring four highly regarded New England makers working in very different fields. The collective series celebrates the diversity of great craft and the passion, technique and thinking behind it.

• Stop by Cafe Zelda for dinner with a special IYRS menu (528 Thames Street), 6:00 - 7:15 pm. Call Zelda’s for reservations: (401) 849-4002 .
• Walk to Restoration Hall at IYRS for the 7:30 pm lecture (449 Thames Street).
• Members - free; Nonmembers - $10

Friday, November 1st 

“Learning through Making” - the importance of hands-on learning in both education and in America today.

When we make things, we tap into a deeper experience of learning. Ms. Somerson will demonstrate curricular principles through student works and examples of her own. In this Learning Through Making presentation, we will come to understand the importance of immersive making and its role in developing creative conceptual practice. Co-editor of The Art of Critical Making: Rhode Island School fo Design on Creative Practice, Somerson will showcase works that feature the importance of hands-on learning that is at the heart of the missions of both IYRS and RISD. 

Rosanne Somerson was appointed Provost of Rhode Island School of Design in July 2012. She is RISD’s 25th chief academic officer. Somerson maintains a robust creative practice by designing and creating furniture for exhibitions and commissions, and as a partner in DEZCO, a production furniture company. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout the world and is represented in many prestigious private, corporate and museum collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Renwick Collection of the National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC, the Yale University Art Gallery and the RISD Museum of Art.

In April 2012 she received the Award of Distinction for lifetime achievement in the field of studio furniture by the Furniture Society.