Teaching Philosophy

As an educator, I seek to create space for students to look closely, think critically, and share freely. Whether in the classroom or the informal learning environment of a museum or gallery, I aim to make space for critical inquiry, connection, and reflection, where students feel welcome to voice their ideas, questions, creativity, and different perspectives. I am interested in how we can use works of art and design to make personal meaning and probe larger questions about society, identity, and ourselves. 

Persephone Allen (she/her) is a design historian, curator, cultural producer, and educator based in Providence, Rhode Island. With an interdisciplinary background in museum programming, design history, and education, she brings an engaged approach to interpreting 20th-century design, visual and material culture, and activating art museum collections. Her courses are designed to encourage close looking, open discussion, and approaching art, design, and meaning-making through multiple perspectives. Her teaching, programming, and research are rooted in a commitment to equity, access, and collaboration. Prior to RISD, she has held positions as Director of Public Programs at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Curator of Programs and Engagement at the American Folk Art Museum, and Assistant Museum Educator for Lectures and Programs at The Frick Collection in New York. She has also held positions in education, curatorial, and programming at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Bard Graduate Center Gallery in New York, and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities in Providence. Her writing has appeared in gallery exhibitions throughout New England and her essay “The Metallic Sphere as Mechanical Eye: Reflected Identities at the Bauhaus,” was published in Dust & Data: Bauhaus Trajectories in One Hundred Years of Modernism (2019). She holds an M.A. in History from the University of Edinburgh, an M.A. in Design History, Decorative Arts, and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center (BGC), and is a 2023 alumna of the National Art Education Association School for Art Leaders. 

Sheetal Agrawal is a first-year grad student in Industrial Design at RISD. She completed her undergraduate in Apparel & Fashion Design from NIFT, India and has over 5+ years of experience working in User Experience Design and Human-Computer Interaction. Her earlier years were spent working with the handicrafts and handloom clusters of India focusing on integrating sustainable practices into traditional craftsmanship. Her journey has spanned diverse experiences, from researching Permaculture design interventions to enhancing Large Language Models (LLMs) comprehension of UX Design. She works at the intersection of STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts & Maths), Design research and is consistently exploring the earnest potential of biodesign and material sciences. She is a huge astronomy nerd and if the error #404 persists, she must be nose deep into books.

Upasana Pandey is a second-year grad student in Industrial Design at RISD. She is researching for her thesis on the topic of: making fun and happiness accessible in hospital settings. Her current interests are around health, materials, and research. 

Before RISD, she had 4 years of work experience across government, healthcare, UX research, and visual design. She holds an undergrad degree in Interior Architecture and Design. Recently, she was awarded the Maharam Fellowship to work on reuse and sustainability, and she has also received a grad prize at the Paris Design Awards. 

When not designing, you might find her talking about the weather, cooking delicious food, playing badminton, or binge-watching TV. She also believes to have seen a UFO!