9294 - The Power of Community in Sustaining a Creative Life (Alumni Labs)

Course Description

Image by Matthew Lancaster

This course is for those who want to live and sustain a creative life. As artists and designers we engage with the communities that intersect with our practice. Deep engagement, beyond traditional networking, will unlock alternative routes for achieving your goals. As you identify your audience you will build and leverage a personal database—people and organizations—that can be used as currency to create connectivity within communities that can help sustain your creative life by generating revenue. In addition, we will enhance your partnership development  skills by creating and sharpening research habits; establishing strategies for reaching people without a referral; and building opportunities that can lead to increased funding to assist meeting your specific needs and wants.

Notes

Alumni Labs is your continuous road home for content that is relevant, forward looking, and connected to RISD's incredible network of graduates. 

Alumni Labs emerges from the understanding that learning and development do not stop once a student graduates from RISD. The Alumni Labs program, an interconnected hub of RISD Alumni, is focused on topics and goals that are important and relevant to personal enrichment and professional development. Courses are designed for alumni and provide spaces for learning that is driven by peer support, expert advice, and a rekindling of curiosity and creative practice. Participants will connect with fellow alumni (classmates, guest speakers/critics, hosts) to explore topics in a way that emphasizes real world relevance and opportunities to network. 

Alumni Labs packages course content in a way that recognizes and implements key RISD concepts such as critique, creative problem solving and critical making. Courses are then delivered to students who are part of the same creative community of like-minded peers who value these concepts. Development and networking do not stop once the course concludes. Students who complete the class will be given exclusive access to the RISD Network’s Alumni Labs page for continuous access to resource sharing and peer/expert engagement.