RISD launches Race in Art & Design cluster-hire for anti-racism initiative

Rhode Island School of Design is hiring 10 faculty members that specialise in issues of race and decoloniality in the arts, architecture and design as part of its wider plan to tackle systemic racism in the school.

RISD's Race in Art & Design cluster-hire initiative includes four roles in the school's Liberal Arts and Experimental and Foundation Studies divisions, three in Architecture and Design and three in Fine Arts.

In order to improve the diversity of both staffing and curriculum, the school intends to hire those with scholarship, practice and pedagogies related to the African American and African diasporas, Indigenous North American and Latinx communities.

RISD aims to diversify staff and curricula

The school added that applicants can also be scholars focusing on any Indigenous or communities of colour that have been historically marginalised.

"We repeatedly heard from our community that the most definitive transformation we could make would be to increase the diversity of the scholarship of our faculty and thereby our pedagogy," said RISD president Rosanne Somerson.

"This initiative will bring 10 new faculty members to RISD in fall 2021, launching a fundamental transformation toward diversifying and expanding our curricula."

"Cluster hire initiative is a cornerstone effort"

RISD, a private art and design school in Providence, said the cluster hire is made possible by one of the largest and anonymous gifts it has ever received.

The cluster hire forms part of a wider, anti-racist plan created in response to issues highlighted by the student-led RISD Anti-Racism Coalition (risdARC) and black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) faculty members amid racial unrest in the US.

Somerson revealed the proposal in an open letter sent to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) community in July this year, following the call for the school to do more for social equity and inclusion amid racial unrest in the US.

"I want to acknowledge and thank the student-led risdARC and the group of BIPOC faculty who passionately led the efforts to instigate much-needed change at RISD, along with the generous anonymous donors who made this possible," she said.

"This cluster hire initiative is a cornerstone effort of many major commitments underway to make substantive, meaningful and durable change at RISD."

"We'll continue to focus on issues of racism and colonialism"

In addition to expanding and diversifying curriculum and pedagogy, other key aims include cultivating a more diverse community; implementing research on issues of social equity and inclusion in art and design; and embedding anti-racist and anti-discriminatory infrastructures.

A faculty-led Social Equity and Inclusion (SEI) committee will spearhead change.

"The cluster hire is a concrete and significant step forward for RISD but I see it as the impetus behind a much larger and more durable initiative," SEI associate provost said Matthew Shenoda.

"Over the coming years, we'll continue to focus on issues of racism and colonialism and how they intersect with other key issues like sustainability."

Architecture and design profession tackles systemic racism

RISD's proposal came in the wake of the killing of African-American George Floyd in police custody in May this year. His death sparked racial unrest and anti-racism protests in cities across the US and countries across the world.

It also brought to focus the systemic racism in the architecture and design profession and resulted in members of the industry,  such as RISD, establishing a number of initiatives  to address and improve racial equality

Examples include a Google Docs spreadsheet listing black-owned studios and anti-racism design conference Where are the Black Designers?.

Photo is by Dimitri Bong, courtesy pf Unsplash.

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A Socially Anxious Character Disguises Itself As Owls, Pigeons, and Other Birds in Textured Sculptures by Clavin Ma

“Comfort Zone,” ceramic with glaze, 12.5 x 7 x 7 inches. All images © Calvin Ma, courtesy of Foster/White Gallery, shared with permission

In his ongoing series titled Blend In: Making Home, artist Calvin Ma (previously) conveys an incessant need to belong through a quirky character camouflaging itself as different birds. From owls to pigeons to Mandarin ducks, the precisely hued costumes envelop the figure in a mass of feathers and scaled footwear. The artist textures the ceramic sculptures by hand, etching countless lines into every plume.

Each species represents an emotion or experience tied to social anxiety, which Ma bolsters with corresponding environments, like a birch cage or flower-lined nest. “Being shy, timid, and a bit socially awkward is something that will always be a part of me. The goal is to come to terms with it and grow from it,” the artist says of his own experience.

If you’re in Seattle, head to Foster/White Gallery where Ma’s anthropomorphic pieces are on view through November 21. To see the works-in-progress, check out the artist’s Instagram.

 

“In The Wind,” ceramic with glaze, 13 x 11 x 8 inches

“Break Free,” ceramic with glaze, 13 x 9 x 9 inches

Left: “Making Home,” ceramic with glaze, 17 x 12 x 9 inches. Right: “Out of the Woods,” ceramic with glaze, 11 x 6 x 6 inches

“First Step,” ceramic with glaze, 14 x 7 x 6 inches

“Hover,” ceramic with glaze, 14 x 10 x 8 inches

Left: “Nesting,” ceramic with glaze, 10 x 7 x 6 inches. Right: “Time And Again,” ceramic with glaze, 12 x 11 x 8 inches

“Fleeting,” ceramic with glaze, 16 x 29 x 8 inches

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ANTI designs pocket-sized naloxone kit to prevent opioid overdose deaths

Norwegian multidisciplinary studio ANTI has designed Ventizolve – a portable naloxone product for emergency use that can temporarily reverse the effects of a lethal opioid overdose to provide time for medical attention.

Contained inside the amorphous, teal case are two doses of naloxone, which is an emergency medication that can temporarily reverse the effects of an overdose of opioids, such as heroin, methadone, opium, codeine or morphine, in under three minutes.

The Ventizolve kit clicks open to reveal two doses of naloxone

While the drug can save someone's life in the event of a lethal overdose, it only reverses the effects for around 20 to 40 minutes. After this the medication will wear off and the person will go back into overdose if medical attention is not given.

There are two types of Naloxone kits: prenoxad, which comes as a pre-filled syringe, and nyxoid, which comes as a nasal spray.

Manufactured by Norwegian addiction medicine company Dne Pharma, ANTI's Ventizolve product comes as a nasal spray for safety and ease of use for non-medic users.

The kit was designed for both medic and non-medic carrying and usage, and each spray contains 1.26 micrograms of naloxone.

The Ventizolve product is secured shut with an elastic band

ANTI wanted to create a product that could be easily carried around "with comfort and without stigma" in case of emergency, and that didn't look like a typical pharmaceutical product.

"Existing products on the market follow standard medical packaging and product design; following regulations without the ever-important empathy of human-centred design," the studio explained.

"Often landing on unsympathetic solutions, indifferent to the end-user, not considering the personal, social and environmental context, products that can carry social stigma and fail to support the 'in the moment' no-medic use in an emergency."

The kit comes in the form of nasal spray and can reverse the effects of opioid overdose within three minutes

The bright teal colour stands out in different environments, making the product identifiable and easy to find in the case of an emergency.

ANTI focused on making the kit compact and easy to open as well as being straightforward to operate, which is essential in a life-or-death situation.

The curved casing is small enough to be held comfortably in the hand. An elastic band fits around the case to ensure it can't be accidentally popped open.

When needed, this band is removed and the case is pulled apart, splitting in half to reveal one nasal spray in each side.

As the design team explained, the quick release function of the elastic band functions in a similar way to a pin on a fire extinguisher or the "break glass" barrier in front of an alarm.

Ventizolve has a bright teal colour to make it easy to find

"Design is a word that too often belongs to the wealthiest and healthiest in society," added creative strategist at ANTI Tom Morgan. "An ironic reality in what design is truly for; the betterment of the human experience."

"Our ambition from the very start was not to compromise the design values of Ventizolve; good design is a universal right," he continued.

"There is no greater communication responsibility, and therefore challenge, then at the point of resuscitating a life. But, this project focuses on far more than just that moment. The unfortunate reality being there are many barriers to saving a life starting far away from the overdose itself."

ANTI tested various shapes of the casing before landing on the final design

An estimated 585,000 people died as a result of drug use in 2017, with opioids accounting for the majority of drug-related deaths, according to the studio.

It added that the use of opioids is a prevalent issue in the US, for instance, where 21 to 29 per cent of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain end up misusing the drug, with approximately five per cent eventually transitioning to heroin.

According to Morgan, the Ventizolve formula contains a lower volume of naloxone than others to prevent future overdoses.

"The risk of a high dosage of naloxone in the event of an overdose can result in immediate abstinence with painful results for an opioid addict," he explained.

"The resulting risk of a subsequent overdose is therefore higher, and can in fact be a barrier for opioid addicts to carry naloxone," he added.

The Ventizolve product aims to prevent future overdoses

The Ventizolve kit has been launched in the Nordic Region and across Europe. Other designers aiming to prevent opioid deaths include a group of researchers at Purdue University, who developed a wearable device that can detect an opioid overdose and trigger the release of an antidote.

The device comprises a sticker-like sensor on the chest to measure the user's heart rate, and a magnetic-field generator strapped to the arm, as well as a capsule of an antidote drug.

The device is designed to stabilise the user in 10 seconds, giving those who overdose alone or are left incapacitated enough time to receive medical attention.

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Anyways Creative’s branding of Paul Smith's Foundation shows how welcoming creativity can be

Working closely with Paul and his team to define, visualise and name the foundation, the launch from one of the creative industry’s most appreciated voices couldn’t have come at a better time.

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Takashi Murakami’s Iconic Flowers Engulf a CT Suite at a Washington D.C. Children’s Hospital

All images © Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., by Kenson Noel, shared with permission

Takashi Murakami recently transformed a sterile PET/CT scan suite at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., into an uplifting garden of smiling flowers. The Japanese artist’s signature motif lines the walls and wraps around the machine itself, making the otherwise stark space less intimidating for its adolescent patients as they undergo the often lengthy and uncomfortable scanning procedure. The vibrant installation was completed in collaboration with RxArt, a nonprofit that commissions artists to create large-scale works for children’s healthcare spaces. For more from RxArt and Murakami, visit Instagram. (via Spoon & Tamago)

 

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