RISD Maharam STEAM Fellowship
ABCittà

Each summer selected students from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) are awarded internship opportunities through the Maharam STEAM Fellowship in Applied Art and Design. Starting in 2012, the New York-based textile company Maharam agreed to generously fund these fellowship opportunities for RISD students.

The Maharam STEAM Fellowship in Applied Art and Design provides stipends of up to $5,000 each for select internships with a government agency or nonprofit organization. Students must research and find their own placements and submit detailed proposals outlining how their internship experience will highlight and strengthen the role of visually acute critical thinkers and problem solvers in helping to improve public policy and tackle large social issues.

During my Maharam STEAM Fellowship I collaborated with ABCittà. ABCittà is a no-profit organization based in Milan and founded in 1999. Its members are professionals experts in participatory design and planning processes. ABCittà operates indifferent areas, on a local, national and international level. I will mainly be operating in the areas of Urban Regeneration and Museums & Cultural Institutions, developing a series of projects that range from training tools to project books and architectural proposals for participatory planning processes.