RISD Craft: Spring 2024, a juried sale of alumni work, will be held outdoors on Providence’s Benefit Street on Saturday, June 1, 2024, from 11 am–5 pm. Hosted during RISD Commencement + Reunion Weekend, RISD Craft invites the RISD Community and the local community to directly interact with RISD alumni artists & designers and peruse the work they showcase.

The jury will accept 130 RISD alumni artist vendors, chosen on the merit of their work. Particular emphasis will be placed on the quality, attention to detail, originality, and mastery of craft in a wide variety of media. Categories include Apparel + Accessories, Ceramics, Fine Art (2D), Fine Art (3D), Furniture, Glass, Home Goods, Illustrated Books + Prints, Jewelry, Photography, Stationery + Paper Goods, and Textiles.

Only RISD alumni are eligible to submit an application to participate in the show. Current students are not eligible for RISD Craft: Spring.

The goal of the RISD Craft jury is to showcase unique, sophisticated, and original work created by RISD alumni in all media. All work at the sale must be handmade and/or designed by alumni who have an active role in the creation of the work.

The application is free, and open for submissions from November 30, 2023 – January 7, 2024. Late applications will not be accepted because of the jury process. RISD alumni and faculty members, all working artists/designers in various fields, are invited to jury the sale for each cycle.

Remember that the jurors are unfamiliar with your work and will make all of their assessments based on your submitted images and process statement. Images should be professional quality, and your statement should address your process in making the work, which is especially important if your products aren’t entirely made by you or by hand.

You must upload five images of artwork through our application online. The work should be current and representative of the work you will bring to the show. Returning applicants are highly encouraged to submit new images of work. Images must be 300 dpi, and between 1400 and 4000 pixels on the longest side.

Please consider your photo submissions carefully. The images should convey to the jurors the craftsmanship, quality, originality, depth and breadth of your work. Non-detailed model shots may be great promotional images for your website or social media, but consider that the jurors might only fully comprehend the products they are voting on with a clear vision of the product. Avoid repetition of very similar works.

Email notification will be sent no later than January 31. There are a total of 130 alumni booths available. If accepted to the show, you will be prompted to submit further information when you pay for your booth.

A limited number of artists will be placed on a waitlist. To ensure that the show is as balanced as possible across the media categories, artists are pulled from the waitlist as space becomes available in their specific media category. For this reason, artists will not receive a waitlist number.

If accepted, the first installment of booth fees to secure your participation is due by February 26, payable online only through our secure payment portal.

The fee for a booth is $235 but can be split into two equal installments. Recent alumni from the class of 2023 are eligible for a subsidized booth fee of $117.50. Booths are approximately 6-7 ft deep from the curb, and approximately 7-8 ft wide space on the street – directly adjacent to your neighbor’s space. Please keep this in mind when planning displays, and don’t use more than 7 ft of display materials to allow for some space between you and your neighbor. Each space comes equipped with one 6 ft. x 30 in. table and two folding chairs. In the event of very inclement weather, we will tent the entire street, limiting the booth depth to around 6 ft.

Those withdrawing from the sale will receive a refund if requested in writing before March 15. After that, half the booth fee will be refunded if requested in writing before April 23. Due to advance planning and promotion schedules, booth fees will not be refunded after April 23.

If accepted to the show, you will receive instructions on the paperwork necessary for a temporary sales permit for the State of Rhode Island (Division of Taxation).

RISD Craft: Spring will be promoted through various print, online and radio advertisements. Emails to RISD alumni, staff, and museum friends will also promote the show, and posters will be hung around Providence and in surrounding areas.

The promotion of this event is helped out so much by participating alumni, you the artists, spreading the word to friends and followers through social media accounts. RISD will provide participants with links and tips to help you promote your involvement in this event.

RISD Craft: Spring features two awards: the Emerging Artist Award and the People’s Choice Award. The Emerging Artist Award, chosen by jurors, goes to an alum who has graduated within the last ten years. The People’s Choice Award is based on votes from visitors to the show. Awards include an automatic acceptance and a free booth in one of the next year’s shows.

Participation in RISD Craft: Spring is a benefit offered exclusively to RISD alumni and is managed by the Office of Alumni + Family Relations. 

By applying to RISD Craft you acknowledge and agree to the following conditions, and failure to comply with the following terms & conditions may make you ineligible for future sales:

• Only RISD degree program alumni may participate. Alumni must be present for the duration of the sale; sales representatives are not permitted. This is a RISD alumni event, and your presence is what makes this show special. 
• Participation is not transferable in any way. If you forgo your table, you cannot give it to other alumni. Please inform the alumni office and we will contact the next person on the waiting list.
• Works sold must be designed by and/or made by you, and not outsourced in an unethical way. Your work must comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited to copyright. 
• All work exhibited must be of the same body, quality, and category of work juried through digital images.
• Food products are not permitted, and music cannot be played by participants during the sale.
• Participants are required to check-in with our team before setting up, and check out at the end of the day.
• The sale of goods containing the RISD name, logo, or insignia is prohibited without RISD’s express consent.
• Participants accept all risks inherent to participation in the events, including but not limited to: inclement weather (rain, snow, wind, and other natural forces), uneven or slippery surfaces, lost, stolen, or damaged property. Alumni agree to accept responsibility to safeguard and protect their property from damage. RISD is in no way responsible for damaged property or resolving disputes over damaged property.
• Participants are required to limit displays to the allotted booth area, and displays cannot block another participant’s booth or the pedestrian aisle in any way. Personal tents are never allowed. Please be respectful of your neighbor! Contact RISD’s sale coordinator prior to the day of sale if you are unsure of what is allowed.
• RISD reserves the right to give away your table if you do not check in by 10 am. Participants must check in at least 60 minutes prior to the start of the sale, or let the show coordinator know you are running late.
• Failure to show up without a reasonable explanation will automatically make you ineligible for the next two consecutive shows/sales.
• Participants must purchase and display appropriate sales permits for the day, as well as fill out the end-of-sale reconciliation worksheet and pay any taxes due (if applicable) when you check out at the end of the sale. Failure to do any of this will result in ineligibility for future sales. Please visit our dedicated webpage on taxes and retail sales permits with any questions.
• Alumni exhibitors are required to observe appropriate business practices and be aware of the rights of consumers.
• Participants are expected to communicate in a respectful and courteous manner with staff and other show participants. Failure to do so may result in future ineligibility. 
• Participants are not able to bring pets along for the day while a vendor at RISD Craft. 
• RISD reserves the right to exclude any alumni at the discretion of the Alumni Relations Office.

INQUIRIES

Contact alumnisale@risd.edu with questions about the show.