PROVIDENCE – The 2026 Rhode Island School of Design Grad Show opened on May 20, with graduating students filling the Convention Center floor with bold paintings, sculptures, installations, products, gadgets, furniture and more.
The free Grad Show remains open, from noon to 5 p.m. daily, until May 30 at 1 Sabin St., on the second floor of the convention center, in halls C and D.
Highlights include work by jewelry and metalsmith majors, pieces that straddle the line between jewelry and sculpture, huge paintings and haunting sculptures.
“Highlighting the creativity of students at all stages of the thesis process, from sketches and drafts to completed works, RISD Grad Show 2026 invites viewers to experience an expansive range of exploratory work by emerging artists and designers,” according to a news release on the show. “The work selected represents the culmination of each student’s experience in RISD’s dynamic and diverse graduate programs.”
The Grad Show has 43,000 square feet to display the graduating students’ work, with 2,000 linear feet of wall space, creating gallery areas.
In addition to sculptures, jewelry, paintings, ceramics and other fine arts are works of design and acritude and product prototypes. Finely crafted, designed and carved furniture is also on display, while students are often explaining their work during the open hours.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RISD’s 2026 Grad Show opens at RI Convention Center. How to go
