Arts & Culture

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts has announced the theme for its 2026 James Harrison Steedman Fellowship in Architecture. The competition, which will mark the Steedman’s 100th anniversary, invites early-career architects from around the world to investigate and reimagine the fundamental systems, facilities and services that underlie contemporary life.

Philanthropists Nancy Kranzberg and Ken Kranzberg received the 2025 Dean’s Medal from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts April 10 as part of the school’s annual Awards for Distinction ceremony. Also recognized during the ceremony were six outstanding alumni in art, architecture and design.

Carmon Colangelo, the Ralph J. Nagel Dean of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, will conclude his deanship effective June 30, 2026. Colangelo will continue to serve as WashU’s E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts. He will return to teaching, after a yearlong sabbatical, in fall 2027.

Illustrator Carson Ellis, sculptor Beatriz Cortez and architect Rahul Mehrotra are among the internationally renowned creative professionals who will discuss their work for the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts spring Public Lecture Series.

Three faculty members from WashU’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts — Chandler Ahrens, Constance Vale and Kelley Van Dyck Murphy — have been named University Design Research Fellows for the 2024-25 cycle of Exhibit Columbus.

This fall, WashU will launch The Engaged City. Building on the long-running Divided City initiative, and funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, The Engaged City aims to highlight St. Louis’ cultural resources.

The “Design Agendas” public symposium, presented by WashU’s Kemper Art Museum and Sam Fox School, will explore the past, present and future of St. Louis urban design Oct. 25 and 26.

Architect Mimi Hoang, urban planner Toni Griffin and artist Josephine Halvorson are among the internationally renowned creative professionals who will discuss their work for the Sam Fox School’s fall Public Lecture Series.

Linda C. Samuels, a professor and chair of urban design in WashU’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, has been named the school’s inaugural director of sustainable design and environmental justice.