RFTMI Research Studio

Welcome! Explore our virtual public programming available on demand.

The institute offers professional mentorship in a variety of art disciplines within the context of the African Diaspora. Open to the public in a non-credit, non-degree format. Sign up below.

Petra Richterová, Storyboard P, New York, 2019.

RFTMI Research Studio

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

  • Join RFTMI guest artist and master modernist photographer FRANK STEWART for an immersive portfolio practice series on the craft of photography. Participants will develop their photographic skills through the lens of one of America’s most gifted living photographers. All levels welcome.

    January 16 - April 10, 2027

    Seven modules meeting every other Saturday via Zoom.

  • A holistic approach to music and the saxophone, combining the physics of the instrument, harmony, technique, piano voicings, improvisation and composition. The “Melodic Inertia” concept developed and employed by Strickland will teach students to create compelling melodies across complex harmonic and rhythmic progressions.

  • Learn the essentials of funk with P-Funk Dynasty vocalist Garrett Shider, son of Garry Shider, one of the architects of Parliament-Funkadelic.

We offer access to world class artists and scholars.
Register for Frank Stewart
Registration coming soon
Registration coming soon

  • "We're all one when we are all on the one."

    Garrett Shider, Parliament-Funkadelic

  • "A photograph is a fact and the reality is a whole other fact."

    Frank Stewart, Photographer

  • "Improvisation is the essence of jazz vocabulary. I coined the term Melodic Inertia in order to highlight where a melodic idea continues its musical trajectory—often moving chromatically or by whole steps—even when the underlying chord or key shifts.”

    Marcus Strickland