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It Starts with a Question: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design President Crystal Williams in conversation with thought leaders, art and design luminaries, alumni, and other friends of RISD discussing what shapes how they live in and experience the world.
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- 3 weeks ago53 min
Julie Mehretu
Julie Mehretu, (b. 1970, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) engages us in a dynamic visual articulation of contemporary experience, a depiction of social behavior and the psychogeography of space. Mehretu’s work is informed by a multitude of sources including politics, literature, and music. Most recently her paintings have incorporated photographic images from broadcast media that depict conflict, injustice, and social unrest. These graphic images act as intellectual and compositional points of departure; ultimately occluded on the canvas, they remain as a phantom presence in the highly abstracted gestural completed works. Mehretu’s practice in painting, drawing and printmaking equally assert the role of art to provoke thought and reflection, and express the contemporary condition of the individual and society.Mehretu is the winner of numerous prestigious awards, including the Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2025, the MacArthur Fellowship in 2005, and the U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts Award in 2015, named as one of the “100 most influential people”by Time magazine in 2020, and membership to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2021. In addition, Mehretu designed the 20th BMW Art Car (2024) and created an eighty-five-foot-by-twenty-five-foot glass mural, entitled Uprising of the Sun, for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago (2024).Her work has been exhibited extensively in museums and biennials including the Carnegie International (2004–05), Sydney Biennial (2006), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2010), dOCUMENTA (13) (2012), Sharjah Biennial (2015), Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2017), La Biennale di Venezia (2019), LACMA, LA (2020), the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2021), Palazzo Grassi, Venice (2024), K21, Dusseldorf, Germany (2025), Warsaw MSN, Poland (2026). Mehretu lives and works in New York City.
- 4 weeks ago49 min
Marcia Gay Harden
Although Oscar and Tony award winning actress Marcia Gay Harden developed a love for theater in Greece soon after high school, she didn't really know she wanted to make acting her profession until a bit later. In her breakout role, in the 1990 Coen Brothers film, Miller’s Crossing, Marcia portrayed the sultry troublemaker “Verna” to rave reviews. As her film and television career grew, she continued to work in theater, appearing in Tony Kushner’s Broadway production of Angels in America, a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Yazmina Reza’s award-winning comedic drama God of Carnage. For Marcia, creativity can extend in several directions, and in the latest episode of “It Starts with a Question,” she and RISD President Crystal Williams reflect on its origins, techniques, and manifestations.
- 4 weeks ago46 min
David Weeks
Widely regarded as the founding father of North American lighting design, RISD alum David Weeks has been a pioneering figure in Brooklyn’s burgeoning independent design movement since his studio’s early days in Dumbo. David’s genre-defining work is hands-on and intuitive, often starting to form ideas via a rough sketch or by creating a small model before carefully removing materials until the object emerges in its most simple, yet functional form. His award-winning pieces have been exhibited in Milan, Paris, London, and New York, and are installed in high-profile commercial spaces and private collections worldwide. In the latest episode of “It Starts with a Question,” he and RISD President Crystal Williams have a wide-ranging discussion reflecting on family influences, creative outlets, the value of curiosity, and joy.
- 4 weeks ago57 min
Grace Lin
Award-winning author, illustrator, alum, and 2025 Rhode Island School of Design honorary degree recipient Grace Lin creates picture books, books for early readers and middle-grade novels that often feature children of Chinese descent, not only to showcase her heritage but also to include aspects of Taiwanese and Chinese culture. In the latest episode of “It Starts with a Question,” she and RISD President Crystal Williams have a wide ranging discussion reflecting on how Grace came into her own as an artist.
- 4 weeks ago43 min
María Magdalena Campos-Pons
Multidisciplinary artist, 2025 Rhode Island School of Design Honorary Degree recipient, and MacArthur “genius grant” awardee María Magdalena Campos-Pons’s work is deeply autobiographical. She explores notions of history, memory, gender, and religion and how each informs who we are. In the latest episode of “It Starts with a Question,” she and RISD President Crystal Williams have a wide ranging discussion about the role of art and artists in the world.
- 4 weeks ago49 min
Brian Selznick
Award-winning author, illustrator, and alum Brian Selznick creates a fascinating world of image and text including "The Invention of Hugo Cabret"—winner of the Caldecott Medal and the basis for the Oscar-winning movie "Hugo". In the latest episode of “It Starts with a Question,” he and RISD President Crystal Williams sit down to discuss the importance of queer representation, bravery in the face of censorship, and finding inspiration and motivation.
- 4 weeks ago47 min
Rose B. Simpson
Multimedia artist and alum Rose B. Simpson (Kha’p’o Owingeh/Santa Clara Pueblo) creates work that explores modes of empowerment and resilience to connect the past and present. In the latest episode of “It Starts with a Question,” she and RISD President Crystal Williams sit down to discuss identity, imposter syndrome, and growth.
- 4 weeks ago36 min
RaMell Ross
Rhode Island School of Design's President Crystal Williams and award-winning filmmaker, photographer, and alum RaMell Ross discuss everything from the life of an introvert and artistic development to the artistry of basketball and some of their favorite poets in the first episode of 'It Starts with a Question.'
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