Rosanne Somerson

Rosanne Somerson is a furniture designer and maker, with works in the permanent collections of the Yale Art Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She is also the President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She has a long history with the school: she earned her BFA in industrial design there, with a focus on furniture making, and she joined the faculty of RISD in 1985. She was appointed its president in 2015, but she still maintains a studio in Fall River, Massachusetts. She still makes time for one or two design projects a year, a practice she feels is necessary to her work as president. Rosanne is passionate about arts education as a preparation for jobs that don't exist—a crucial skill in an ever-changing world—and about artists as the change-makers the world needs. 

Make/Time shares conversations about craft, inspiration, and the creative process. Listen to leading makers and thinkers talk about where they came from, what they're making, and where they're going next. Make/Time is hosted by Stuart Kestenbaum and is a project of craftschools.us.