Alex and Ani Hall Opens at Rhode Island College

Alex and Ani Hall Opens at Rhode Island College

The grand opening of Alex and Ani Hall at Rhode Island College took place on September 23.

Governor Lincoln D. Chafee and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joined Rhode Island College President Nancy Carriuolo for the opening of the $17-million art center.

The 52,600-square-foot facility is a renovation of the site’s original building, constructed in 1958.  The renovation includes state-of-the art studios, classrooms, computer labs, presentation areas, and outdoor work courts.

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Funded by a higher education bond in 2010, the project has benefited from private donations, including a $1-million investment from Alex and Ani, LLC.

Carolyn Rafaelian, CEO, founder and creative director of Alex and Ani, was among the donors from Rhode Island’s arts and business communities in attendance.

“I thank Alex and Ani for having the foresight to make this great investment in higher education, and I congratulate President Carriuolo and the Rhode Island College community on this ribbon cutting for Alex and Ani Hall,” Governor Chafee said. “We cut the ribbon on a project that was approved by the voters in 2010 and demonstrates the public’s willingness to fund important ventures. By investing in the building blocks of a good economy – education, infrastructure and workforce development – we have positioned Rhode Island to continue moving in the right direction.”

“Providing students with the opportunities to channel their energy into positive actions as adults is part of the heart and soul of Alex and Ani,” said Rafaelian. “We are thrilled our gift for Rhode Island College has helped to repurpose and reinvigorate a center of learning that will benefit thousands of students and help to train Rhode Island’s workforce for years to come.”

Then and Now

RIC’s art department was housed in an building originally designed as a dining hall, library and bookstore prior to the renovation.  Due to the building’s limited space, all of the college’s art programs did not fit together under one roof, and often had to share space with other academic departments in other buildings.

After the renovation, RIC’s studio art, art history and art education departments are now integrated within a single building designed specifically for the needs of art majors and outfitted with the latest 21st-century technology, including high-tech ventilation and dust-collection systems. According to RIC, among the amenities are 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.

“One of the benefits of the new, integrated center is the opportunity for spontaneity and collaboration among faculty,” explained Nancy Bockbrader, chair of the art department.

Carriuolo Lauds Arts

President Carriuolo said, “RIC has always been a hub for art-making in Rhode Island, but now we have a space that celebrates that role.” She added that RIC art program graduates have gone on to work at such notable companies as Boeing, National Geographic and Walt Disney Animation.

Carriuolo continued, “Teaching art has impact far beyond the college classroom, not only by preparing art majors for careers in fine arts and design fields, but also by building communication, creative thinking and problem-solving skills in students of all academic disciplines.”