ARTIST STATEMENT
The present moment is an opportunity to grasp our heartbeat, hear beauty and remind us that we are alive. I am curious and question everyday patterns and gestures, and have learned to pause…self-reflect, be grateful for all that has transpired to become reality — Joy, Happiness, Contentment and Peace. As an Indian American and seen as a model minority, I am aware of my many privileges, but as a person of color, I recognize the biases and marginalization by how my adopted country has labeled and categorized me. The struggles with how everyday gazes position me as the other, constant code-switching validating my intersectional identity and experiences have made me a survivor. I seek solidarity with communities to be the change.
Designer as a catalyst — I perceive design as a philosophy of life where designers must empathize with and respect the diverse multicultural communities of the people we serve. My designs are shaped by lived experiences, and social engagements in community spaces to build understanding, acceptance, and respect. My medium for creative expression varies greatly but includes the following: curating immersive participatory experiences, for example, food that I prepare to share with others; interactive installations using mixed and various emerging digital media which evoke multi-sensory responses. In all of these, I wish to highlight invisible norms connecting audiences with themselves, the community, and me.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Archana Shekara is an Indian-American artist, designer, associate professor of graphic design, co-director of Ethnic Studies Program, and creative director of Design Streak Studio, a research based social innovation lab focusing on human-centered service design at Illinois State University. She uses design as a tool to build cross-cultural understanding, humility, acceptance, and respect.
As a cultural researcher, she investigates transnational identity by understanding racism through a brown lens, and sharing awareness through auto-ethnographic narratives. Her research interests include design pedagogy related to cultural identity and awareness, racial equity, social justice, and community engagement. She recently started the national South Asian/American Designers Alliance to bring South Asian American perspectives into mainstream conversations in design. Shekara’s innovative teaching methodologies have been featured in peer-reviewed national and international academic and professional publications, and conferences including Association Typographique Internationale (AtypI), Typography Day, Digitally Engaged Learning (DEL), College Art Association (CAA), AIGA Design Educators Conference, and UCDA Design Educators Summit. She received an MFA in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BFA in Painting from the State University of New York in New Paltz.
© Archana Shekara