Introduction

Featuring work by the more than 200 graduate students who earned degrees this year, RISD Grad Show 2020 highlights the creativity of students at all stages of the thesis process, from sketches and drafts to completed works.

Thesis work in the show is accompanied by links to the artist websites and social media accounts of the now RISD alumni, who will continue to add to this publication throughout the summer as studio access comes available and works are completed. 

 
Once campus operations resume, the RISD Museum’s Chace Center galleries will also feature exhibitions of thesis work by the Class of 2020. Further details about physical exhibitions will be released when available.
 
After seeming like a distant phenomenon to many, by mid-March COVID-19 made its presence known locally, prompting the necessary transition to a remote spring semester. Adding to their fear, uncertainty and concern for friends, families and their communities, students grappled with how their academic ambitions—to which they have dedicated untold hours of work—had been disrupted.
 
To say that this has been a challenging semester for grad students at RISD is an understatement. Throughout this unsettling time, however, one thing became notable: the unwavering commitment of students to their work, research and practice. It is through their efforts that the physical forms, words and concepts that frame the grad thesis developed. 

Normally, this work would be presented together in RISD’s expansive annual graduate thesis exhibition. With the show postponed due to the pandemic, this digital publication gives all master’s degree candidates the opportunity to highlight and share their thesis work.