Sam Fox School Awarded NEA Grant for Design Futures Forum

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis was awarded a $25,000 grant through the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant will support the Design Futures Student Leadership Forum, which is facilitated by the school’s Office for Socially Engaged Practice.

The twelfth annual forum will be held on WashU’s campus in May 2024. It features interdisciplinary programming by leading faculty and practitioners to train emerging designers in the practice of design justice and the built environment. “Design Futures forever changed how I think about my role in architectural practice and solidified my desire to work in community-engaged design,” said Katie Plum, BS ’25.

The Design Futures Forum is led by Executive Director Ezra Kong, BS ’16. Kong is a community-based facilitator and practitioner — as well as the co-founder of Reflex Design Collective — who has worked on projects ranging from facilitating short-term design solutions for homelessness to expanded transit in California. 

Five students have been selected to attend the 2024 Design Futures Forum, hosted by the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Hieran Andeberhan, AB ‘25; Julia Bernat, BS ‘25; Carlos Cepeda, BS '24; Natalie Dinh, BFA '26; and Michael Scarboro MArch/MSW '24, will attend on behalf of the university.

This grant is one of 19 made to nonprofit organizations in Missouri, and more than 1,000 nationwide.