On Saturday, June 3 at 10:30AM, 488 undergraduate and 238 graduate students from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) received their diplomas at RISD’s 2017 Commencement. The ceremony took place at the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence, where the annual RISD Graduate Thesis Exhibition was also on view.

This year RISD presented four honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees to change-makers in contemporary culture. Airbnb co-founder and RISD alumnus Brian Chesky (RISD ’04 Industrial Design) accepted an honorary degree and also delivered the Commencement keynote address. Chesky’s Airbnb co-founder and fellow graduate Joe Gebbia (RISD ’05 Graphic Design/Industrial Design), painter Kehinde Wiley and designer Christina Kim accepted honorary degrees at the ceremony as well. In addition, cartoonist Roz Chast (RISD ’77 Painting) was honored with the 2017 Alumni Award for Artistic Achievement.