ALEX AND ANI Hall

Rhode Island College’s Fine Art Center was renovated and expanded to a 52,600-square-foot facility in 2014. It was renamed Alex and Ani Hall in honor of a generous donation of one-million dollars by owner, Carolyn Rafaelian, and CEO Giovanni Feroce. The façade features a copper-wrapped second floor and the spacious interior includes state-of-the-art studio classrooms, art gallery, presentation areas and gathering spaces for students and visitors.

Main Entrance Artwork
"Hyparbole", by Marc Forns,1 is a permanent structure commissioned by Rhode Island College and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts through the Allocation for Art for Public Facilities Act.2
1. MARC FORMS / THEVERYMANY; https://theverymany.com/
2. Rhode Island State Council on the Arts: https://arts.ri.gov/

Administration Office: AAH 143
The Art Department Administration Office is located in AAH 143, near the south entrance. Students and visitors may stop by for assistance, or to make an appointment with the department chair.
The Administration Office is also the drop-off location for transfer portfolios, BFA program application portfolios and art auction donations. RICARTS Magazine, the department’s annual publication, may also be purchased here.

Foundations Studio Classrooms:
2-D Design Studio: AAH 104
3-D Design & 3-D Synthesis Studios: AAH 107
Drawing & 2-D Synthesis Studios: AAH 117, 121, & 201
Open Studio: AAH 213
The classrooms for all Foundation classes are bright work spaces that are highly adaptable and user-friendly with ample display options on gallery-style walls, pedestals and an overhead structure for suspended projects.
The studios are simultaneously configured for both lectures and lab work. These studios are centrally located in the building and enjoy immediate proximity to the upper-level studios. This ensures that our Freshmen and Sophomores are working right alongside the upper-level students and are routinely exposed to what future studio options will be for them.
The Foundation studios also enjoy immediate proximity to a large walk-in spray booth and a full-service woodshop with a dedicated technician. Each of the studios provide spaces for the storage of student materials and projects and are equipped with a dedicated large industrial sink and safety eye-wash station.

Woodshop: AAH 109
Woodshop Technician: Kirsten Warnock, kwarnock@ric.edu
The Woodshop is located in close proximity to the first floor Foundations studios. Art students are welcome to use the woodshop but must first receive training via the Woodshop Workshop component of ART 204: 3-D Synthesis.
Woodshop equipment includes a variety of shop-hand tools, table saw, compound miter saw, table saw, band saw, planer, drill press, belt sander, routers, large workbenches, storage shelves, and safety equipment.

Art History Classrooms: AAH 138 & 140
The Art History program has two specialized classrooms: AAH 138 is a 40-seat lecture room and AAH 140 is a 20-seat seminar room. Both are equipped with high-quality digital projectors and sound systems for PowerPoint and video projection. The Art History program also has a small teaching collection of artworks, materials, and tools for understanding historical techniques.

Art Education Studio Classroom Labs:

AAH 135 and 136
The Art Education program is housed in two customized classrooms.
AAH 135 serves as a seminar and studio space as well as a resource center. This room provides a podium with a projector, SMART board, sinks, readily available art supplies/materials, large tables for hands-on art-making activities, 3 Macintosh computer stations, and professional-level printers and scanners. This classroom also contains a mini nature lab including objects and books intended to inspire connections between art and the natural world. In addition, AAH 135 holds one half of our program’s Art Education Resource Library, including magazines, journals, books, instructional guides, and curricular materials pertaining to studio art, art history, art education and general education topics.
AAH 136 provides the same technology as AAH 135 and holds the other half of the Art Education Resource Library. In addition, AAH 136 contains a unique display of books including book-making guides, examples of hand-made books, and historical and classic books pertaining to art education.

Ceramics Studio Classroom: AAH 108
The 5,000 square foot facility for the Ceramics Concentration has state-of-the-art ventilation and houses a 1500 square foot enclosed outdoor kiln pad, 400 square foot glaze room, 300 square foot plaster mold-making room, clay mixing room, and a B.F.A. student work area. This facility also features a spray booth, twenty-five electric potters' wheels, Soldner® and Bluebird® clay mixers and two plug mills.
The AV equipment includes Macintosh® computer, video projector and speakers for students to explore online images and videos. Students have access to the department at all times when the building is open.

Gas Kilns

24 cubic foot kiln
70 cubic foot kiln
36 cubic foot soda kiln
Olympic® Raku Kiln (18")

Electric Kilns

Two 24 cubic foot Fredrickson® kilns
1227 Skutt® kiln
Oval Skutt® kiln
Nabertherm® kiln
Skutt® test kiln
Wood Kiln
25 cubic foot Wood Kiln

Digital Media Classroom Lab: AAH 209

Lab equipment for the Digital Media Concentration includes iMac® 27 inch retina display computers with the latest versions of Autodesk MAYA,® Z-brush,® Adobe Creative Suite,® Office 365® (and other programs for computer based art), a green screen, an Epson Perfection Pro 750® scanner, an Epson SC-P800® inkjet printer, a black & white laser printer, and large projection screen with a sound system for lectures and presentations.
The digital media classroom lab also has an advanced output lab with a Fortus® 250mc 3D printer, Makerbot® 3D printers, and BOXX® Windows workstations. ¬
Other AV equipment includes video projectors, media players, LCD screens, and speakers for the display of digital media art projects.

Graphic Design & Digital Media
Seminar Room: AAH 208
The Graphic Design and Digital Media concentrations share a seminar room that features a floor to ceiling south-facing window with electronic blinds and shades. This seminar room includes large tables, a projection screen with sound system for lectures and presentations, a large pin-up wall for critiques and presentations, a copy-stand for photographing work, a library of design periodicals, storage cabinets, work counter, and sink. There is also a walk-in spray closet with ventilation across the hall.

Graphic Design Classroom Lab: AAH 207
The Graphic Design Concentration’s classroom lab is designed for students to work on projects both in and outside of class time, with late night and weekend open hours. This classroom lab features floor to ceiling, south and west-facing windows with electronic blinds and shades, a large storage closet, flat-file storage cabinets, and work tables for building projects.
Electronic equipment includes seventeen iMac® 27 inch retina display computers with Adobe Creative Suite,® Office 365,® and several other software applications, an Epson Perfection Pro 750® flatbed scanner, four Epson P800 inkjet printers, a Xerox Phaser® color laser printer, black & white laser printer, and large projection screen with a sound system for lectures and presentations. Tools include a light box, portable light pads, large guillotine cutter, photo-shooting equipment and book binding tools.

Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design
Classroom Studio: AAH 105
The Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design Concentration’s area includes two studio classrooms for bench work (including soldering areas), a senior/B.F.A. student studio space with benches for forming and raising, a forging area with acetylene and natural gas torches, an enameling area with large and small kilns, and a study area for research.

Painting Classroom Studio: AAH 205
The Painting Concentration area is housed in a spacious, high ceilinged studio with large, south-facing windows and large storage shelves for paintings. This classroom Is divided into two areas:
1. One area features a studio for Painting I and II and large-scale critiques. It includes a stage for models and semi-permanent set-ups, and digital equipment for presentations.
2. The second area includes twenty-one individual studio spaces for students in Painting III, IV, and V.

Photography Classroom Studio: AAH 134
The photography area includes a sixteen-seat digital production lab, a spacious 12-station gang darkroom with state-of-the-art ventilation, a bright glass-walled seminar and critique room, and a professional lighting studio. Photo equipment includes:
Digital Production Lab
27" iMac® computers with full Adobe Creative Suite
Epson® professional wide-format printers
Epson® professional flatbed film scanners
Plustek® film scanner

Darkroom
Beseler 23CIII enlargers
Large ventilated sinks
Illuminated viewing tables
Bienfang® hot press
Film dryers
Silver recovery machines

Lighting Studio
Overhead lighting grid with ProFoto® strobes
Computer table with 27" iMac® and Lightroom® for tethered shooting
Backdrop mounts, fixed and portable
A variety of portable lights and remote triggers
Camera dolly

Printmaking Classroom Studio: AAH103
Printmaking occupies 1,620 square foot of dedicated space including a room for special photo-printmaking processes and a room for acids/etching. The studio boasts exceptionally effective ventilation enabling the safe usage of traditional oil-based inks, grounds, solvents and acids. Printmaking equipment includes:
30" x 52" American French Tool® etching press
24" x 42" Pelican® Table-top etching press
30" x 48" American French Tool® lithography press
24" x 48" Conrad® lithography press
Vandercook® Proofing press (18" x 18" relief printing capability)
18"x 28" Brand® professional hot plate
37" Pexto® jump shear
NU ARC® 26 -1KS exposure unit (Purchased with a generous alumni gift.)
30" x 40" drying rack
32" x 80" stainless steel graining sink
32" x 44" stainless steel paper soaking sink
Acid room and special processes room with two chemical-proof plastic sinks and multiple plastic chemical storage cabinets
Flat-file storage with 40 drawers
Two steel solvent storage cabinets
Five 26" x 42" vented inking palettes
Multiple rollers, brayers, lithographic stones, hand tools, etc.

Sculpture Classroom Studio: AAH 106
The Sculpture Concentration facilities are divided into three areas, a classroom/studio for woodworking and other sculpture mediums, a hot metal working studio and an outdoor work court that includes forging and foundry equipment. Each studio is designed for safety and is equipped with proper ventilation for good air quality. Student project and material storage is also provided. The main sculpture classroom is equipped with a good selection of hand tools, two band saws, a disc sander, a spindle sander, and drill presses. The metal working area has various metal working hand tools, metal roller, break, and shear, welders and plasma cutters, a gas forge, and pneumatic forging hammer, and a sandblasting cabinet.

Student Lounges
The AMICA Student Lounge
Located in the center of the art facility, at the east entrance, the AMICA student lounge is a favorite gathering space for students and a popular location for events like the Annual Art Auction, the Mudd Club ceramics sale and Art Club meetings

The Carolyn Rafaelian Student Lounge
Located on the second floor of the art facility, the Carolyn Rafaelian student lounge has floor to ceiling windows, and is the perfect location for study, conversation, critiques and social events.

Chazan Family Gallery
Founded in 2014, the Chazan Family Gallery honors Dr. Joseph Chazan and his late wife (both strong advocates for the arts in Rhode Island) and their children and grandchildren. Exhibitions feature the work of students and recent graduates of local, regional and national programs in all mediums.

The following rooms were named in honor of donors from the RIC and greater Rhode Island communities:
The Carolyn Rafaelian Student Lounge
The Chazan Family Gallery
The Anthony Tomaselli Painting I Studio
The Elizabeth Z. Chase Drawing II Room
The John and Mary DeMelim Graphic Design Computer Lab
The DeMelim Family Graphic Design Classroom
The Robert and Marie Petrarca Painting II Room
The Class of 1962 Courtyard
The Class of 1964 Lecture Hall
The Jeanne Pitt Conference Room
The Gloria and Lou ’60 Marciano Design Room
The Donald Smith Drawing I Room
The Ralf E. Carriuolo Metals Studio
The Amica Student Lounge
The Michael Mota ’02 Photo Film Development Room
The John Q. “Tash” Tashjian ’09 Seniors Room
The Jack and Regina ’62 Partridge Printmaking Studio