The Grand Opening
& Ribbon Cutting of the New Alex and Ani Hall Art Center at Rhode Island College
by Kimberly Sherman Leon Founder and President of RICM
On Tuesday, September 23, 2014, I was honored to attend this ribbon cutting ceremony which meant a lot to me as an Alumna. I attended Rhode Island College (RIC) from 1998-2002 and had taken many classes in the “old” Art Building. Seeing what it has become today makes me want to go back and explore more options that RIC has to offer now in their new state of the art facility. I was amazed to see what they have transformed the art center into. It is just beautiful. I am very excited for the current and upcoming student artists attending RIC.
During the ceremony, President Nancy Carriuolo intro- duced the guest speakers and thanked everyone who contributed to the project. She also announced each of the rooms names which were named in honor of donors from the RIC and greater Rhode Island communities.
In her remarks, Rafa- elian deferred to RIC President Carriuolo. She said, “I wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for President Carriuolo.” They first met, she said, on a trip to Israel. “President Carriuolo is some- one who says what she means and does everything in her power
to make things happen,” said Rafaelian. “She has my full support in anything she puts her mind to.”
The grand opening included a tour of the new facility. Designed by Schwartz Silver of Boston and the Design Partnership of Cambridge, the Alex and Ani Hall art cen- ter boasts state-of-the-art equipment and functionality.
During the dedication, Carriuolo received an unexpected gift from RIC Professor of Art Nancy Bockbrader on behalf of the art department’s faculty and students. Bock- brader presented the president with two letters – her initials N and C – extracted from the large metal signage on the origi- nal building. “Thank you for everything you’ve done to bring this project to fruition,” said Bockbrader.
“This has increased RIC’s ability not only to attract and educate the next generation of artists and designers but also to expose in- terested students throughout the college to visual literacy, creative problem-solving and impactful design,” said Carriuolo.
The building is outfitted with high-tech ventilation and dust-collection systems; a digital media laboratory with Mac computers and a 3-D printer; a pottery studio with indoor and outdoor kilns; a photography suite with a seminar room, laboratory and photo-shooting studio; and separate studios for painting, sculpture, printmaking and jewelry/metalsmithing.
In addition, RIC’s new art building now matches RIC’s excellent art pro- gram, said Carriuolo, whether it is RIC’s award-winning art students and alumni or RIC’s art faculty committed to aca- demic excellence.
Content part in reference by RIC
www.ric.edu. Photography taken by RICM Staff. Alex and Ani Hall Art Center photo supplied by RIC.
Vol. 3 Issue 2 | 29
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