Across three campus buildings, 106 artworks on display were showcased by local educators.
The University of Rhode Island’s 2025 Honors Colloquium series, entitled “Education, Behind the Curtains,” continued this week with an art exhibit showcasing work by Rhode Island’s educators. The exhibit, featuring 106 pieces of art on display across three buildings, interacts with the challenges and joys faced in education today, according to university President Marc Parlange.
“This [exhibit] is special, because it includes URI alums,” Parlange said in the reception’s opening address.
The reception, hosted on Lippitt Hall’s fourth floor, included remarks from artists, organizing staff and attendees. URI alum Raff Diaz ’16 read his spoken word poem, titled “We Saw a Sign.” Now an English second language teacher in Providence, he expressed his gratitude for the exhibit.
“We’re working together to make sure that we can come back to support the community,” Diaz said. “We’re doing great things with the students. I’m working on projects that’ll make sure the students get an education, and it’s all because of the University of Rhode Island.”
Educators in attendance came from a broad range of disciplines and backgrounds, having taught at public, private and charter schools, as well as universities. One artist, Mary Jane Andreozzi, now retired, taught at Bayview Academy for 38 years. Her work focuses on experimentation and is inspired by natural forms.
“I’ve always made art in all different mediums, experimented a lot, which I passed on to my students,” Andreozzi said. “It’s important to experiment. The students really had such amazing, creative ideas.”
Gallery director Steven Pennell said that collaboration between the colloquium and art department was natural, as he has worked with artist educators extensively in the past. Director of the honors program, Karen de Bruin, expressed gratitude for how the exhibit enhances this year’s honors colloquium.
“I’ve had the good fortune of being at URI for 29 years,” Pennell said. “Exhibiting artists around the region and around the world, but I’ve worked extensively with artist educators… I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to invite them to show their work and also to speak about their perspective on education.”
Attendees enjoyed light refreshments and conversation as they browsed the exhibit. Two URI students, Julia Cohn and Corinne Ruddy, shared their favorite works from the night.
“Oh, I took a picture of it,” Cohn said. “There was one downstairs, with the American flag and bullets raining down. That one. I was like, ‘wow, it looks so cool.’”
Ruddy said that she’d seen the artwork installed around Lippitt Hall earlier this week and found herself eager to learn more.
“I really like the [paintings] with lakes and oceans, they’re right over there – I thought that was really beautiful,” Ruddy said, and gestured to a set of paintings.
The artwork, presented by the URI Department of Art and Art History, is on display in Lippitt Hall, Green Hall and the Higgins Welcome Center until Monday. Entry is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
