Last Thursday through Saturday a group of 10 RISD students was the first volunteer group on two new South Providence sites of Habitat for Humanity. The weather was beautiful despite the record flooding only days before, and the crew was excited to work. We started with only the foundations poured and over the three days were able to set the first floor beams and deck, and raise the first two walls on each site.

Check out some of the work on our Flikr site here, at Habitat’s site here and here, and for the complete set of photos check out the RISD Public Engagement website HERE specifically. Enjoy!

-Sara

There are still a few spots left for RISD- if you are interested please email the Program Coordinator for the Office at skudra at g risd edu to sign up! Details to follow soon!

This trip is part of the Year of Providence- to find out more visit: http://www.risdinpvd.org/

Respond/Design Presents:

Nerd Night THIS THURSDAY March 25,2010
TAP room
7pm presentations
6:45 nice slice pizza

Nerd Night is a chance for students, staff, and faculty to share their work. Based on a Japanese program, “pecha kucha”, presenters discussion 20 slides, 20 seconds a slide., quick and dirty. It’s a fun way to get together and learn about what other RISD people are doing, working on, dreaming of, and and thinking about. A community event infused with the feeling of a live performance, this Nerd Night features:
Jonathan Knowles ::: Architecture faculty
Chris Rose ::: Furniture faculty
Meg DeCubellis::: Apparel faculty
Boback Firoozbakht ::: Interior arch. grad.
Erika Tarte ::: Graphic design grad.
Nicole Merola ::: English faculty

Oh, and free food!

If you are interested but unable to make the Friday meeting please email Sara in the Office of Public Engagement: skudra (at) g risd edu

Learn what other RISD people are doing, working on, dreaming of, and thinking about. Based on a Japanese program, “pecha kucha”, presenters discuss 20 slides with 20 seconds a slide; quick and dirty. A community event infused with the feeling of a live performance.

Respond|Design is a forum to promote social and environmental responsibility at RISD.
We work with students and administrators, in development and implementation of sustainability methods and goals.

Presenters tonight are:
Jessie Shefrin ::: what she’s working on
Garrett Seiple ::: 52 Weeks on Aquidneck
Yarrow Thorne ::: Art Murals
Alan Cantara ::: Recyclemania
Gordon Moss ::: Kit of parts for housing in Haiti
David Zacher ::: The Intersection of Science, Public Policy and Design
Peter Paniccia ::: RISD retail green check
Devon Miller ::: Student Gardens
Charlie Cannon ::: It’s In the Bag // Waste for Life

Leadership Skills Workshops

How do effective leaders get things done?  What skills allow them to move agendas and mobilize communities?  How do they work with groups and avoid the resistance encountered in hierarchical and ego-driven models?  This series focuses on 3 relational skill areas: organization, facilitation, and fund-raising.

Organizational Development :: Weds, Jan 20, 7pm, Ewing House with Peter Hocking, director Office of Public Engagement — focusing on the behind-the-scenes planning that’s critical before any organization, group, or program can move forward.

Facilitation :: Thurs, Jan 21, 7pm, Ewing House with Wayne Assing, director Counseling Services & Student Development — focusing on the means through which a designated facilitator or leader can effectively guide a group through deliberation, discussion, and decision-making.

Fund-Raising :: Mon, Jan 25, 7pm, Ewing House, with Peter Hocking, director of Office of Public Engagement — focusing on methods for raising funds to move projects forward.  Although primarily focused on community / non-profit projects, the principles shared in this workshop are adaptable to many contexts.  Students attending this session are encouraged to attend the first session.

Education, Action & Social Change Discussions 7:00 PM in the Tap Room

These discussions, lectures and screenings focus on how education – whether in formal learning settings or through public interventions — can be a force for social change.

• Sebastian Ruth, Founder & Executive Director of Community MusicWorks, 19 January, 7PM in the Tap Room: Community MusicWorks creates cohesive urban community through music education and performance that transforms the lives of children, families, and musicians. At the center of this mission are the teaching, mentoring, program design, and performance activities of the Providence String Quartet. Sebastian Ruth founded Community MusicWorks in 1997 with the conviction that music and musicians have an important role to play in creating and transforming communities.

TONIGHT: 6:30PM // Carr Haus Cafe

Claire Andrade Watkins , Director of the Fox Point Cape Verdean Project and Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America — 15 January

*Read more about the series on our website!

1.14.2010
7:00 pm, TAP ROOM
Street Art for Social Change

Justseeds was originally started in 1998 by artist Josh PacPhee as a way to distribute his art and the Celebrate People’s History poster series. In 2006, MacPhee reached out to a dozen like-minded artists and previous collaborators as well as the political street art Blog Visual Resistance in order to re-envision Justseeds as a cooperative effort.

*ALSO: don’t miss Project Open Door’s Student Exhibition TONIGHT before Josh MacPhee. (details posted below)

Project Open Door aims to alleviate some of the financial and educational obstacles teens from low-income families face when they seek advanced arts learning opportunities that will prepare them for college and careers in art and design. Teens with a passion for art and design attend programs at their schools and come to RISD to experience campus life. Approximately 150 teens from Providence and around Rhode Island participate in programs each school year and summer.