Photo Spotlights

RIT City Art Space, the College of Art and Design’s new first-floor gallery and community event venue inside Sibley Square at Liberty Pole Plaza in downtown Rochester, opens its doors to the public Dec. 7, with an exhibition featuring two of the university’s creative titans. The gallery will present the work of RIT professors and lifelong artists Willie Osterman and Leonard Urso in a joint exhibition, titled “Emergence,” through Jan. 20, 2019. An opening reception, part of the monthly First Friday art series in downtown Rochester, will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Osterman and Urso will be in attendance.

Olivia Kim, adjunct faculty in RIT’s College of Art and Design, spoke about the 13 statues of Frederick Douglass she created. She was part of a panel discussion, "American Diversity & Frederick Douglass: Lessons from the Prophet of Freedom."

Author David Blight, left, and Frederick Douglass descendant Kenneth Morris Jr. discuss Douglass in a panel discussion, “American Diversity & Frederick Douglass: Lessons from the Prophet of Freedom.”

Elizabeth Goins, left, assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts, taught a workshop on VR storytelling during the 2018 Frameless Labs Symposium. Michelle Finn, historical researcher at the Rochester Public Library and deputy historian for the City of Rochester, was one of the participants. The symposium featured the latest technology and projects in virtual, augmented, mixed and extended realities, drawing experts from around the country to RIT. Hosted by RIT’s MAGIC Spell Studios, the symposium focused on media use in optics, storytelling, health and in museum exhibitions.

Deaf and hearing actors and dancers from RIT/NTID Performing Arts and RIT’s College of Liberal Arts perform Cabaret in American Sign Language and spoken English Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Panara Theatre. The award-winning musical is set in pre-World War II Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime. Tickets can be purchased at www.rittickets.com.

Deaf and hearing actors and dancers from RIT/NTID Performing Arts and RIT’s College of Liberal Arts perform Cabaret in American Sign Language and spoken English Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Panara Theatre. The award-winning musical is set in pre-World War II Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime. Tickets can be purchased at www.rittickets.com.

Associate Curator Amelia Hugill-Fontanel printed a special bookplate inspired by Frederick Douglass’s The North Star newspaper for historian David Blight’s new book, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. The bookplate was printed on an 1840s iron hand press at the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection.

The Native American Heritage Month keynote event featured artists Frank Waln and Tanaya Winder. Tanya Winder, shown here, is a poet, writer and educator from the Southern Ute and is a member of the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe.

Delta Sigma Phi hosted a friendly broomball competition with 16 teams to raise awareness about the importance of deaf Greek life on the RIT campus.

Kristin Grant, a fourth-year industrial design student from Portland, Oregon, spent two months working in Genova, Italy this past summer. More than 20 students exhibited projects they worked on while studying abroad in the 5th annual Global Learning Symposium.

Twenty-five student-athletes and library staff from Rochester Institute of Technology read with the entire first-grade class at John Williams School No. 5 on Nov. 9 for the 11th annual Giant Read. At the end of the event, each child received a book to encourage further reading. The RIT volunteers have been visiting School No. 5 weekly, helping students from pre-K programs to the third grade learn to read as well as providing mentorship opportunities and assistance in the classroom.

Joyce Chu, first-year psychology major from Brooklyn, N.Y., got cozy in the Reading Room and tasted the concept of hygge. During RIT’s International Education Week, students could experience a Danish lifestyle in the Hygge Lounge with comfy chairs, donuts, hot chocolate and crafts. Students could BYOB (bring your own blanket) to add to the feeling of contentment and well-being that is the foundation of hygge.