Join AIGA Indy for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) event with Kelly Walters, author of Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators, along with Shantanu Suman, designer and assistant professor at Ball State University.
During this event, Kelly and Shantanu will discuss how race and design education have impacted their education and careers, as well as how it plays out in our cultures today.
As with all AMA events, our guests have graciously agreed to answer any questions you might have before or during the event. Submit your questions ahead of the event via this Google Form.
Heads up: When you register, your Eventbrite confirmation email will contain a Zoom link for the event!
-----------
Get To Know Our Guests:
Kelly Walters is an Assistant Professor and the Associate Director of the BFA Communication Design program in Parsons School of Design at The New School. In her independent design studio Bright Polka Dot, she works across platforms to create publications, exhibitions, and digital experiences for educational and cultural institutions. Her ongoing design research interrogates the complexities of identity, systems of value, and shared vernacular in and around Black visual culture.
Shantanu Suman is a graphic designer from India currently working as an Assistant Professor at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. In a career spanning over seventeen years, Shantanu has worked as a Creative Director, documentary filmmaker, small business owner, and educator. Ever since moving to the United States, Shantanu has constantly drawn inspiration from his Indian roots to inform his design decisions. He uses Hindi typography within his work to make the Devanagari script relevant in the current design discourse.
About The Book:
In Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators, Kelly Walters collects twelve deeply personal interviews with graphic design educators of color who teach at colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. The book centers on the unique narratives of Black, Brown, and Latinx design educators, from their childhood experiences to their navigation of undergraduate and graduate studies and their career paths in academia and practice. Their impactful stories offer invaluable perspectives for students and emerging designers of color, creating an entry point to address the complexities of race in design and bring to light the challenges of teaching graphic design at different types of public and private institutions. Interwoven throughout the book are images that maintain cultural significance, from family heirlooms to design works that highlight aspects of their cultural identities.
-----------
Accessibility
ASL interpreting services will be provided. If you need additional accommodations to fully access the event, please send an email to kristen@indianapolis.aiga.org.
