Siyona Ravi

Abstract

As in many other forms of media, illustration often reflects unexamined norms, assumptions, and implicit biases we all carry into our work. This often reinforces common narratives about marginalized communities, including people of color, immigrants, people who are or have been incarcerated, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities, among others.

This presentation will focus on addressing how illustration can be used as a tool to represent communities with agency through the working process of the NYC-based Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), a nonprofit organization that collaborates with designers, educators, advocates, students, and communities to make educational tools that demystify complex policy and planning issues.

Bio

Siyona Ravi is CUP's Communications and Program Coordinator. Before joining CUP, she worked on several creative advocacy projects, including the Fundred Project, a campaign led by artist Mel Chin to end childhood lead poisoning, and a documentary film for Anandam, the TGNC branch of a sex workers’ labor union in Kolkata. In 2019, she was a Create Change Fellow with The Laundromat Project. She holds a BA in Visual Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.