PROVIDENCE, RI, April 29, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Peter James Geisser with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Geisser celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
A renowned artist and educator of more than 50 years, Mr. Geisser is best known for his work in stained glass. Working exclusively in European-antique glass, which is mouth-blown, his works have included windows for AS220, a nonprofit community arts center located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, the Cancer Center at the Rhode Island Hospital and for countless windows of various private homes, public buildings and churches throughout New England. In fact, one of Mr. Geisser's most famed church works included the Rhode Island Hospital Chapel of Hope. Mr. Geisser collaborates with artist Mika Seeger on stoneware sculptural/mosaic murals. In 2019, they completed a five year community mural project at the Tiverton Public Library, Tiverton, RI.
"It is important that my art be of service to people, not to simply be of service to itself. In my career, I have been fortunate to have had commissions in schools, a prison, hospitals, churches, public spaces as well as private homes." –PJGeisser
An equally gifted teacher, Mr. Geisser retired as an art director at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf in Providence in 2003 after 30 years of excellence in his role. There, he was instrumental in the creation of the art and art history program, which received worldwide recognition and was featured in SchoolArts Magazine, a national art education magazine committed to promoting excellence, advocacy and professional support for educators in the visual arts. Originally an art instructor at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston between 1967 and 1973, he subsequently held teaching roles in continuing education at the Rhode Island School of Design and was an art coordinator at the Boston School for the Deaf. Mr. Geisser continues to teach as a lecturer of art education and special education at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth since 2011.
While teaching at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, Mr. Geisser presented numerous workshops on campus. He also presented at national and regional art education conventions and other international locations. He taught a summer lecture in Rome with American Leadership Study Groups at Clarke University, and served on various boards, including for the Perishable Theatre in Providence and the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Furthermore, Mr. Geisser directed several projects, one of which included the Circle of Clay, a project for Very Special Arts of Rhode Island, which included decorating the Hasbro Children's Hospital with thousands of ceramic tiles made by 10,000 children from all over the state. He had served on the teacher advisory boards for the Rhode Island Committee on Humanities and for the Rhode Island School of Design.
Mr. Geisser's stained glass commissions can be found at the AGAPE Chapel in Hardwick, Saint Joseph's Rectory, Regina Caeli Chapel in Providence, Saint Mark's Church in Cranston, Rhode Island, Notre Dame College in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Roger Williams Park Museum in Providence, among other locations. He has also been featured in group exhibitions at such locations as the Cohen Art Center at Tufts University and the Warwick Museum in Rhode Island. Contributing chapters to several books, Mr. Geisser notably contributed a chapter in the National Art Education Association's bestselling publication "Reading and Teaching Education Students Through Art." He also authored articles and papers covering various topics relating to art and special education, education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children.
A graduate of Tufts University, Mr. Geisser received a Bachelor of Science in education in 1969 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1971. He also received a Diploma in 1970 and a Fifth Year Graduate Certificate in 1971 from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where he studied painting, ceramics, mosaics and stained glass. Years later, he received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1997 for his work as an artist, art educator and arts advocate. Mr. Geisser is a certified teacher in the state of Rhode Island.
Mr. Geisser is a member, former executive board member and former eastern region vice president of the of the National Educators Association, NAEA, the leading professional membership organization exclusively for visual arts educators from the elementary to graduate level. Geisser is founding member and past president of the Special Needs Art Education Interest Group of the NAEA. In 2011, to acknowledge his service a national award was named for Mr. Geisser, Peter J. Geisser Special Needs Art Educator of the Year Award. He is also a member and past president of the Rhode Island Art Education Association and member of the Rhode Island Forum for Humanities. Mr. Geisser served as a founding member of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts access advisory board, 1978–2018, was an advisor to the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the Governor's Task Force on Literacy and the Arts and the R.I. Committee for the Humanities, among other organizations.
Leading an esteemed career, which has included recognition from multiple organizations for his artwork, educational commitments and community involvement, Mr. Geisser was the recipient of The Pell Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts from Trinity Repertory Company in 2008. He received the Marian Dix Award for Outstanding Leadership in Art Education from the National Association for Art Education, was honored with a Humanitarian Award from the Business Volunteers for the Arts in Rhode Island and was named as one of 350 Outstanding Citizens of Rhode Island by the City of Providence. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Art Education Association. Additionally, Mr. Geisser secured several grants from such organizations as the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the LEF Foundation. A celebrated Marquis listee, he has been featured in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in the East and Who's Who in the World.
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