Contact

Jennifer Bissonnette

Jen is an ecologist and marine scientist whose work engages techniques of transdisciplinary inquiry to merge natural sciences knowledge, techniques and methods of inquiry with art|design thinking and studio practices. With a BS in Biology from Eckerd College, and a Ph.D. in Marine Science from the College of William and Mary/Virginia Institute of Marine Science, her work focuses broadly on human-nature connections and systems thinking to help innovate design solutions to environmental and societal challenges. Her past experience includes working on Capitol Hill as a natural resources legislative assistant, coastal resource management work for the state of Virginia, and teaching college classes on a variety of topics including aquaponics, biomaterials, sustainable and regenerative design, biology, ecology and marine science. She is also responsible for overseeing the design, construction and programming of the Nature Lab's new BioDesign Makerspace.

Benedict Gagliardi

Benedict (he/him) approaches the intersection of art and science from the point of view of a naturalist–seeking understanding through patient observation and guided by persistent curiosity. Nearness to the natural world and ample time to explore and engage with it have always been essential to him. With a bachelors degree in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and a masters degree in Entomology from the University of Connecticut, insects are his foremost passion and destigmatizing their "creepy-crawly" reputation is a gradual and lifelong aim. Benedict relishes the opportunity not just to teach others about nature but to share in awe, fascination, and bewilderment with the process and products of evolution. He seeks and encourages the insights, ideas, and inspiration that can be drawn from nature when viewed from unique perspectives, in differing contexts, and with dissimilar biases. Outside the Lab, Benedict builds community around traditional folk music, organizing social music events and performing locally with his partner.

Georgia Rhodes

Georgia Rhodes is a Providence-based artist by way of the Midwest. She holds an MFA in Photography from the University of Georgia and a BFA in Art Education from Michigan State University. As part of RI C-AIM , her research seeks to understand an approach to making and knowing that utilizes both art+design practices and scientific methodology. As a fine artist, she is interested in observing the way people make images and record their world, and exploring the way human anxiety causes us to interact with the natural environment. Current Nature Lab projects include RI STAC grant Large Scale Projection Mapping as a Collaborative Platform for Communication and Discourse using Oceanographic Data and Physical Modeling of Narragansett Bay and co-developing Vis-A-Thon, a program designed to reimagine visualization as an evolving process of inquiry.

Lea Fabre

Lea Fabre is a multi-dimensional artist, with their BFA in Sculpture from RISD. Their work often focuses on the environmental impacts of human behavior, in addition to diverting established waste streams. Ornithology and scientific illustration are of particular interest to them and frequently influence their artistic practice. Their knowledge of natural history and local ecology often brings them into close conversion with the Nature Lab collection. With a personal investment in community engagement with art, Lea has had work experience at Roger Williams Park Zoo and Waterfire. They find engaging people in the creation of art and the exploration of science to be both exciting and fulfilling. Their abiding passion for animals, and teaching others about them, has only grown as they care for the many animals in residence at the Nature Lab. Lea enjoys sharing their own sense of wonder with others, while helping students and visitors explore the collection and resources the Nature Lab has to offer. Outside of the Lab, Lea enjoys archery, singing with friends, and birdwatching.

Ava Handley

Ava’s lifelong practice lies at the nexus of art and natural science. A forever student of her surroundings, she works in a variety of mediums and subjects that comfortably include concept art, comics, ecological advocacy, taxidermy, skeleton cleaning and science visibility. Ava’s primary passions are exploring comparative anatomy, designing creatures, and the development of the study of natural history, guiding her to a BFA in Illustration at Rhode Island School of Design with a concentration in Nature, Culture and Sustainability Studies. She got her start at the Nature Lab as an undergraduate student, and has worked with a variety of organizations including Creature Conserve, Rhode Island Natural History Survey and the Phoenix Zoo. She is happiest researching intensely obscure topics, cooking foraged goods, watching horror movies and tending to the Nature Lab’s living residents and her personal small menagerie at home.

Laura Kenney

Laura Kenney is a holobiont composed of many living organisms, one of which is human. They are also a writer of poetry, nonfiction, and experimental texts; a film and digital photographer; and a visual artist across many mediums. Prior to their time at the Nature Lab, Laura worked for a number of organizations including at New York's Public Art Fund and VIA Art Fund, in Brown University's Division of Advancement and Pre-College Programs, and as an experiential educator at the University of Pittsburgh's Frick Fine Arts Library. They hold a BA in cross-disciplinary Literary Arts from Brown University and an MFA in Poetry Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.

Jessica Smith

Jessica is a New England transplant by way of North Carolina. With a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from UNC Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute, Jess is interested in how biodesign and biomaterials can inform more sustainable manufacturing futures. Beyond the Nature Lab, Jessica creates 3D printed ceramic objects and shares opportunities in the biodesign space through her site Biodesign Jobs.

Mary Connell

Mary Connell is a Providence based artist originally from Massachusetts. She received her BFA from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and her MFA in Painting from RISD. Prior to coming to RISD, Mary worked in the environmental science field as an arborist on the Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program and as a commercial beekeeper, both of which have informed her creative practice. Using printmaking, drawing and painting techniques, Mary's work accumulates into atmospheric diagrams and repetitive marks that reflect on unseen abstract systems of labor and research. Through this, she seeks to question and expand conventional definitions of nature.

Kaytee Canfield

​Stephanie Van Riet

Stephanie Van Riet is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice strives to bring compassion and consciousness to our natural world and the creatures that are overlooked and endangered by our lifestyles. Fascinated by how living beings re-sculpt the contours of our planet and develop a collective intelligence through their movements, she visually organizes her observations and research through sculpture, printmaking and installation. As a graduate student in Sculpture at RISD, she explores the possibilities of interspecies collaboration, and is always eager to adopt new ways of creating more sustainably.

Lauren Russo

Lauren is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher investigating the intersection of ancient and modern technologies through site-specific installation, performance, and time-based media. Their work engages with topics such as hauntology, non-human encounters, sound, recording technologies, as well as wearable devices that serve as both costume and biological extension.

Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at RISD, Lauren seeks to deepen human connections to the land by exploring how technology and craft can reveal new ways of sensing and interacting with our surroundings.