Melissa McGill has been awarded the Helena Adelia Rowe Metcalf Visionary Award by the Rhode Island School of Design Alumni Association. This award is the highest offered by Alumni Awards Committee of the RISD Alumni Association Leadership Council, and honors Helen Metcalf, the founder of RISD, her visionary spirit, and civic generosity. The award recognizes alumni who have achieved outstanding distinction in their life’s work in a professional field, or in community, public or humanitarian service. The achievements of the awardee should be inspirational to RISD students, demonstrating exemplary accomplishments in their professional and civic lives, and bring honor and pride to RISD.
“Melissa consistently connects her work to the communities it affects through a deep connection with the people affected, and community involvement in the process. Her recent endeavor, Red Regatta, was an independent public art project that activated Venice’s lagoon and canals with four unprecedented large-scale regattas of traditional vela al terzo sailboats hoisted with hand-painted red sails.”