Art Advisory Board
Art Advisory Board
The Art, Art History & Design Advisory Board brings together professionals, alumni, educators, and community partners who support the continued growth of Art, Art History & Design at CCRI. Through shared expertise and dialogue, the board helps strengthen connections between academic study, professional practice, and emerging opportunities for students.
Advisory Board Members Get Involved
Purpose
Advisory Board members offer professional insight that helps the department remain responsive to evolving practices in art, design, museum work, education, and creative industries. Their perspective supports long-term planning, student opportunity development, and departmental visibility.
Student Impact
Board conversations help identify ways students can connect classroom learning with professional pathways, including transfer planning, mentorship, exhibitions, and exposure to creative careers.
Advisory Board Members
Jesse M. Kahn, Graphic Designer and Educator
Prior to joining MassArt as a lecturer, Jesse M. Kahn was an Associate Professor and Interim Dean of Academic Services and Programs at Montserrat College of Art. His research and teaching interests include Gay identity in the history of art, type design & typography, and book arts. He has also taught design & digital photography to urban youth, and guest lectured on art history and Queer craft.
Originally trained as a painter and printmaker, Jesse employs photography, graphic design, traditional handicrafts, and sculptural techniques to explore Gay male sexuality, freedom of expression, and concerns over the division between public & private spaces and between personal & national security. He also maintains a design practice focusing on custom type design and print graphic design.
Jesse holds a BA from Earlham College (1992) and an MFA from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University (2008). He is completing a post-graduate certificate in type design from Type West (SF). He was a 1992–1993 recipient of the Thomas J. Watson fellowship during which he was an assistant curator at the Organisation for Visual Arts in London. He has presented at the College Art Association (CAA), the Society of Photographic Education (SPE), and at Foundations in Art: Theory and Education (FATE).
An active fine artist, Jesse has exhibited in California, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. He has served on the Board of Directors of Chicago Neighborhood Artists and the Advisory Board of Cultural Connections, an arts initiative in East Boston, Massachusetts. He was also a member of the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Atist Certification Board. He is a founding member of the Boston LGBTQIA Artists Alliance, the East Boston Artists Group, and of the collaborative gallery Atlantic Works.
Ryan Lariviere
Bio coming soon...
Stephanie P. Fortunato, Co-Founder and CEO of Constellations Cultural Studio
Stephanie P. Fortunato is on a mission to inspire discovery, delight, and understanding by exploring the transformative power of arts and culture in civic life. Stephanie’s approach is informed by her experience within city government where she served as Providence’s Director of Art, Culture + Tourism, working at the intersection of cultural planning and community development. Throughout her career, Stephanie has collaborated with local communities to co-create arts-based policies, programs, and partnerships that aim to strengthen neighborhoods, facilitate connections, and animate public spaces. She works as a consultant specializing in arts and cultural strategy and public engagement. Stephanie is the Global Cultural Districts Network’s Special Projects Director and co-host of its podcast The Three Bells, produced by AEA Consulting. She holds an MA in Public Humanities from Brown University and BA in humanities from Providence College.
Constellations Cultural Studio
Get Involved
Do you feel you may be a strong fit for the Art, Art History & Design Advisory Board, or are you interested in supporting the department through professional insight, mentorship, or community connection? Please use the link below to contact us — we would love to hear from you.