When Champ Turner first arrived in the Azores in 2022 for a SiPN summer program Design with Nature, led by professors Laura Briggs and Jonathan Knowles from the Rhode Island School of Design & Yale University, in collaboration with the University of Azores and its faculty, he did not know that this initial encounter would spark a long-term connection, one that would bring him back to Portugal as a Fulbright researcher and exhibition curator, contributing to the cultural life of the islands.
After graduating from Brown University in 2024 with distinction in Visual Arts and International and Public Affairs, Champ sought ways to deepen his research interests at the intersection of environment, culture, and history.
Inspired by his experience with FLAD/SiPN in the Azores, he decided to apply for a Fulbright/Azores Regional Government grant and was selected!
“I was thinking about ways to be able to go back to the Azores because I just liked it so much when I was here the first time, and I thought it would be a very interesting place for human-environment interaction – an interest of mine. ”
His research and practice led to an inauguration of his own exhibition “Out of the Ashes, Catastrophe and Adaptation in the Azores” at the Carlos Machado Museum, São Miguel, Azores (inaugurated on April 15, 2026).
The project represented a deeply interdisciplinary body of work, combining research, curation, and artistic practice. Drawing on museum collections, archival sources, and original artworks, the exhibition explores how Azorean communities have responded to natural disasters over the past five centuries.
“There are a lot of disasters in the Azores, but I chose six that are relatively well known, each from a different historical era; they were kind of the core of my research. I think each one is kind of a case study in how the historical conditions of the time influence the ways that people are able to adapt and change”
Following his Fulbright grant, Champ plans to continue working in the cultural and academic field, bringing with him the experience and insights gained in the Azores.
For current and prospective SiPN students, Champ’s message is clear:
“Portugal is a great country to be able to sort of explore your interests. […] There are resources out there like FLAD | SiPN, and Fulbright grants, that exist because of the strong connection between the US and Portugal. It is not only possible to find a way to connect with Portugal and to come back and learn more as I did”.
