This Wintersession Travel Course offered a unique opportunity for students to experience craft as practiced at the highest level on location in Jaipur, India, with its long tradition and rich diversity of artisan culture, and to explore how digital technologies which pervade contemporary art and design education can act in collaboration.
Estimated dates—final dates to be announced.
Course Dates: Jan 9, 2023 — Feb 4, 2023
Minimum 2.5 GPA required. First year students are not eligible for this course.
Estimated cost—final cost to be announced.
Includes accommodation, all meals, field trips, local transportation, museum entrances, health and travel insurance. Airfare not included.
This Wintersession Travel Course offered a unique opportunity for students to experience craft as practiced at the highest level on location in Jaipur, India, with its long tradition and rich diversity of artisan culture, and to explore how digital technologies which pervade contemporary art and design education can act in collaboration. Hosted by DirectCreate, a network of and digital marketplace for Indian artisans, students had first-hand exposure to the artisan’s environment and observed the production of work hewn by place-based considerations such as regional climate, culture and infrastructure. Guided by project-based prompts and engaging in making activities together, this course invited a conversation about the nature of collaborative practices integrating craft while exploring new potential approaches to advanced technology.
There has been an emergence of global interest in craft (DIY practices, revival of sewing and knitting clubs) catalyzed by pandemic-era isolation and disseminated through mediated technologies. This boom in amateur craft stands in stark contrast to the devastation of many professional hand-based craft industries which saw their markets all but disappear and little know-how or access to digital markets. Such paradoxes and the pandemic-era decline of travel and devaluation of live settings in education, acted as fitting backdrops for students in this course to become fully immersed within the shifting boundaries between art, design and craft and to foreground questions like "How can traditional craft meaningfully engage tools like 3d modeling or 3d printing" or “What is the role of the hand in the metaverse?”
The application for Wintersession Travel Courses 2025 will is now closed.
View details
The application for Wintersession Travel Courses 2025 will is now closed.
View detailsThe entire application process will be completed using an online application portal. You will be able to upload, request and submit all required documents there. Apply to a Wintersession Travel Course
If you are a RISD or Brown University student with a GPA of 2.5 and up, you are eligible to apply. Permission of the instructor is required and is based upon application and selection.
RISD reserves the right to cancel a course due to under-enrollment or for reasons related to health and safety.
Requesting to withdraw from a RISD global learning program, including Wintersession Travel Courses, prior to the start of the course is highly discouraged and requires a formal process outlined in the RISD course withdrawal policy.
Have questions? The RISD Global team is available to meet for a 1:1 advising session. We can give you more information about your study options, help you figure out which program makes sense for you, and assist you with the application process.
Schedule an AppointmentNo upcoming events for this program at this time.