Since 2014, DESIGNxRI has proudly organized DESIGN WEEK RI, an annual celebration of design and creativity across Rhode Island. This statewide event connects a diverse community of innovative designers, makers, and thinkers who are shaping the way we live, work, and create.

Portrait Mode is a facilitated, interactive evening of learning and creation! We will begin by exploring the role of portraiture—how it shapes memory, identity, and legacy—followed by a hands on self portrait session where materials will be provided. This is not about being an amazing artist, all skill levels are welcomed! This is about sparking creativity, having fun, and learning something new. After creating, the group will reconvene and share our work and write personal placards. The guiding question would be, “If this were hanging in a gallery, what would the label say about you?” and “What do you hope your legacy to be?”.

This is a ticketed event. Suggested donations of $5-10 per ticket helps support free public programs for women and gender expansive people.

About the Facilitator: Vic Xu

Vic Xu is a multimedia artist based in Providence, Rhode Island. They foster a practice with cornerstones in painting, photography, and design. Drawing from the language of their everyday life, their work flows between images, objects, and memory to sit with moments of quiet possibility, when past histories peak through and future visions feel malleable. Their work is inspired by cycles of re-generation and asks what re-membered traditions can be stretched into ones that nurture more spacious patterns for living, dancing, and being.

Vic Xu is also one of more than 30 talented artists commissioned for the inaugural Portrait Gallery exhibition: Founders and Inventors Who Shaped Our World, on view at The Alcove.

The Alcove is grateful to our community of members and supporters whose generosity makes public programs like this one possible. Together, we create space to thrive.