Letterpress Letterscape Rome

About this Travel Course

Course Description

In this RISD Global Summer Studies course, students will experience the typographic culture (both ancient and contemporary) of the city of Rome, Italy, as a source for inspiration, understanding, and explorations in their creative practice using contemporary letterpress printing. The course consists of guided walks through the city with its vast typographic resources and archives, combined with studio work in letterpress printing taking place at Betterpress Lab, in the active Roman neighborhood of Trastevere. 

The course will begin by using the inscriptions and typography in the streets of Rome as a source material in understanding the development of the Latin alphabet and its evolution into the always changing contemporary letterforms we use today. The technological, political, and social forces pushing these developments and changes will be analyzed, as will the always present resistance to established forms and uses, and how all of these factors shape our present visual typographic culture. 

Studio work will be based out of Betterpress Lab, an independent letterpress printmaking studio founded in 2014 by Francesca Colonia and Giulia Nicolai, with a focus on creative uses of historical handset type as a form of cultural, social, and political resistance. Students will have the opportunity to design and create typographic compositions using original movable type from the Betterpress Lab collection, learning hand-set letterpress printing, developing print projects to establish and improve basic letterpress printing skills, culminating with the production of a collective group print portfolio based on the individual students’ investigations. No previous letterpress printing, printmaking, or typographic design experience is required but is encouraged. 

Eligibility

RISD Students

If your current cumulative GPA is 2.5 or above, you are eligible for registration. If your current cumulative GPA is lower than 2.5, you must first contact the Registrar at registrar@risd.edu to seek exception to this academic policy.

Non-RISD Participants

If you are a college student currently enrolled in another art and design college or institution around the world you are eligible for registration. We will collect a recommendation and support form from your institution within the application.

In order to register for RISD Global Summer Studies, you are expected to have a high level of English (speech, writing, and comprehension) as all coursework and critique is delivered in English, and your current cumulative GPA must be 2.5 or above.

Attendance Policy

Global Summer Studies are three weeks long and take place in June and July. You are required to attend all program activities scheduled during the travel course. RISD Global Summer Studies comply with RISD class attendance policy. In case of unexcused or multiple absences, you may be removed from the course, given a grade of “W" (withdrawal) or a grade of “F” (fail).

Withdrawal Policy

Requesting to withdraw from a RISD off-campus global learning program, including RISD Global Summer Studies, prior to the start of the course is highly discouraged and requires a formal process outlined in the RISD course withdrawal policy. It is not possible for a student to drop a RISD Global Summer Studies travel course via the standard Add/Drop process after it has commenced. In the case of unforeseen and extenuating circumstances (and only after students have spoken with the faculty lead and RISD Global for approval to withdraw from the program), students should be aware that no refund will be issued.

More Info

In order to reserve a seat, a non-refundable deposit of $500 is required at the time of application submittal. Students will submit full payment for the course when all seats are occupied but no later than March 17, 2025. Students that fail to make full payment by their deadline will forfeit their $500 deposit and their seat in the course.

All RISD students and full degree seeking students enrolled at other schools or universities are required to remain in good academic standing in order to participate in Global Summer Studies. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required for all participants. Failure to remain in good academic standing can lead to removal from the course, either before or during the course.

In cases where summer travel courses do not reach full capacity, the course may be canceled after the last day of registration. As such, all students are advised not to purchase flights for participation in Global Summer Studies courses until the course is confirmed by RISD Global.