Global Arts and Cultures

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Alumni

Following graduation, students who have completed a Master’s Degree in Global Arts and Cultures are well-positioned to pursue many different scholarly and professional paths. Here is a snapshot of several alumni who are taking their expertise in exciting new directions.

Holly Gaboriault

Holly Gaboriault

Lecturer, Department of Theory + History of Art + Design, RISD

Kyung Eun Lee

Kyung Eun Lee

Assistant registrar at Kukje Gallery in Seoul, South Korea

Holly Gaboriault

Lecturer, Department of Theory + History of Art + Design, RISD

MA 21 GAC

Breathing into Absence: Narrative Strategies and Interventions in Material Histories

Holly Gaboriault combines design research, curation, documentary film and design narration to highlight hidden histories and methodologies centered in the power of storytelling and ecosystems of inquiry. Graduating from the GAC cohort in 2021, her thesis Breathing into Absence: Narrative Strategies and Interventions in Material Histories, explored the ideologies and cultural practices of museum collections and institutional archives focusing on the dynamics of materiality ‘haunted’ with the stories carried by objects within these sites. The thesis discusses interventions utilizing the vehicle of absence as a positive, constructive tool for reframing void through object-based research. In Fall 2021, Gaboriault joined RISD THAD faculty as a lecturer with courses including Global Modernisms, Hidden Histories Of Women In Art and Design, and Hidden Histories In Museums and Archives. In 2022, she joined the Summer@Brown faculty at Brown University teaching Art, Gender, and Fashion and The Politics of Textiles. Gaboriault continues to film, direct and produce documentaries featuring thinkers, makers and museums, along with the RISD Fleet Library Magnetic Media Project and 2020–22 RISD Research Perspectives media series. Her current design research and curatorial projects include a book project and exhibition featuring history of 1960s fashion illustration and design.

Kyung Eun Lee

Assistant registrar at Kukje Gallery in Seoul, South Korea

MA 20 GAC

New Media Art: Curating Social Justice in Contemporary Art Museums and Arts Organizations

Art means a great deal to Kyung and has had a profound impact on her life thus far. She considers art to bring herself closer to the thing she values most in life. She does her best to engage with people, art galleries, and arts institutions not only to satisfy her passion and desire for art but also to maintain the high-level success of her career and work.

Kyung graduated with a master's degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in Global Arts and Cultures. After graduating from RISD, she worked at Unbound Visual Arts as an exhibition designer and curator. And now she has been working as a registrar at Kukje Gallery, preparing art for exhibitions and art fairs and writing condition reports. She has also updated artworks in the computer database and maintained meticulous records to organize information. She works closely with the sales team to track sales information and maintain records.

Kyung also has a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Art. After graduating from UC Berkeley, Kyung worked as a museum educator at the Museum of Children’s Arts, researching and planning for new educational programs. Kyung also worked at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to support public programs, contributing to the growth of innovative programs that inspire audiences and expand upon the exhibition's themes like Gauguin: A Spiritual Journey and Contemporary Muslim Fashions.