Our history
“Hey, Mr., we hear there is an art club here. Can we join?”
One day in 2005, a group of boys from Hope High School in Providence found their way to the basement of a Rhode Island School of Design building at 20 Washington Place. Their school was under state control due to low performance and high dropout rates, and the boys, who craved an artistic outlet, had heard about an after-school program at RISD. Dr. Paul Sproll, POD’s founder and long-time Director, recalls the students wandering into the program on their own, looking for a creative outlet.
While Dr. Sproll, the head of the department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design, typically taught graduate students, he had volunteered for a semester to teach an after-school studio for students at Feinstein High School in Providence. It was this after-school program that the Hope students had discovered. Dr. Sproll realized this program could be valuable and meaningful for artistically talented, under-served teens in the city's public schools.
For over twenty years, from the basement of ProvWash to the dedicated light-filled POD Studio on South Water Street, Project Open Door has continued to uphold this purpose: to provide free, quality art and design programming to high school students in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket.
program goals
To provide FREE, high-quality programs throughout the year that help youth develop their artistic skills and creative voice within a supportive and inclusive community.
To encourage a life-long interest in the arts among POD teens + alumni.
To encourage teens to graduate from high school and enroll in higher education, by offering mentorship on college applications and portfolio preparation, or to secure gainful employment after graduation.
To provide teens with access and exposure to RISD’s campus and resources and unique program opportunities by collaborating with campus partners. Provide support and an authentic learning site for the RISD community- students, faculty, staff, and alumni to engage with the community and develop professional practices and pedagogy centered on social justice, equity, and inclusion.
Dr. Paul Sproll, Founder
As the founder of Project Open Door, Dr. Sproll has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to equity and access to high-quality visual arts learning opportunities for creative teens attending Rhode Island public high schools.
For the past three decades, Dr. Sproll has guided the TLAD department, directing two graduate degree programs (Master of Arts in Art and Design Education and Master of Arts in Teaching) and mentoring future art educators. Though on the cusp of new adventures, Dr. Sproll remains dedicated to progressive practices in art and design teaching and learning and holds a passion for community-based practices at the intersection of formal and informal art and design education for teens.
POD IN NUMBERS
POD IN NUMBERS
