Opening of Alex and Ani Hall at RIC celebrated

THE GRAND OPENING of Alex and Ani Hall, a $17 million art center at Rhode Island College, was held on Tuesday, Sept. 23. The 52,600-square-foot building was renovated through the project. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE
THE GRAND OPENING of Alex and Ani Hall, a $17 million art center at Rhode Island College, was held on Tuesday, Sept. 23. The 52,600-square-foot building was renovated through the project. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE

PROVIDENCE – Dignitaries on Tuesday celebrated a grand opening of Alex and Ani Hall, a $17 million renovation of a 1958 Rhode Island College campus building that reopened to students at the start of this fall semester.
Funded by a higher education bond from 2010 and private donations that included $1 million from Alex and Ani LLC, the 52,600-square-foot, two-story building features studios, classrooms, computer labs, presentation areas and outdoor work courts. The second story is wrapped in copper.
“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 Carolyn Rafaelian, CEO, founder and creative director of the company. “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.”
Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee said that the donors’, college’s and taxpayers’ investments in the “building blocks of a good economy – education, infrastructure and workforce development” have helped position the state to “continue moving in the right direction.”
Before the renovation, the college’s art programs did not fit together under one roof. But now, the college’s studio art, art history and art education departments are integrated into a single building outfitted with the latest 21st-century technology. Amenities include a digital media laboratory with Mac computers and a 3-D printer, a pottery studio, photography suite and other arts studios.
“One of the benefits of the new, integrated center is the opportunity for spontaneity and collaboration among faculty,” Nancy Bockbrader, chair of the art department, said.
College President Nancy Carriuolo said that RIC art program graduates have gone on to work at Boeing, National Geographic and Walt Disney Animation.
“RIC has always been a hub for art-making in Rhode Island, but now we have a space that celebrates that role,” she added.
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse also attended the opening.

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