Sara Ossana
Sara Ossana engages with objects, space, and materiality as tools for unlearning. Their transdisciplinary practice invokes the elemental and the alchemical—provocations through matter, time, and form. They work in the liminal and the layered, where collaboration, vulnerability, and emancipatory practices generate new forms of ecological and cultural literacy.
Ossana holds an MIA in interior architecture from RISD and a BA in fine art and English literature from Rice University. They manage key partnerships at RISD—including the Terra Carta Design Lab and Tiffany & Co. initiatives—while teaching in the Furniture Design and Interior Architecture departments. They previously held a full-time faculty position at Brown University in theatre arts and performance studies, where they also currently serve on the steering committee of the Elemental Media Lab and recently were a faculty fellow in the Pembroke Seminar: Unwriting the Anthropocene—all while advancing research at the intersection of environmental humanities, media theory, and material culture.
A founding partner and former creative director of O&G Studio, Ossana’s work spans scenography, product design, regenerative systems thinking, and social innovation. Their designs have received international recognition and have been featured in Vogue, Architectural Digest, World of Interiors, and the New York Times. Ossana’s ongoing work explores craft as a speculative and pedagogical tool for transforming material traditions, reframing design canons, and building equitable futures. Originally from Arizona, they live in the east bay of Rhode Island and remain a dedicated oyster bar enthusiast.
Academic areas of interest
- Environmental humanities and material ecologies
- Regenerative design and disturbing existing industry ecologies
- Scenography, worldbuilding as liberatory praxis, and narrative environments
- Performance and ritual as critical research methodologies
- Decolonial and queer frameworks in design education
- Sustainable production and ethical material sourcing
- Cross-sector collaboration in creative industries
- Design-led social innovation and community engagement
- Professional practice and sustainable creative design entrepreneurship