The external projects records of the Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design (TLAD) document the program’s engagement with students and art education practitioners in Rhode Island public schools through specific initiatives, 1994-2013. Two initiatives make up the bulk of TLAD's external projects: Project New Directions (PND) and Project Open Door.

PND created a series of professional development workshops and summer academies offered several times each year, 1994-2006. Project Open Door, 2005 to present, partners TLAD with Providence School District to develop robust arts curricula and provide after-school programming for students at low-performing schools.