AIGA : One Designer, One Work
{designing pauses for self-reflection : understanding oneself to understand, appreciate and respect the other}

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Interviewed by Lee-Sean Huang

Design educator and content creator. Director of Design Content and Learning at AIGA. Cofounder at Foossa.

Invited by AIGA. “The virtual series features one designer showcasing a work that is personally meaningful. We'll hear what inspires, challenges and guides them. Expose yourself to new material by exploring with our guest, Archana Shekara. Archana will speak about cultural identity, cross-cultural awareness, cultural appropriation, and marginalization, as well as what inspired her to take up her research.”

Here is the link to watch the Zoom recording.

{AIGA > Inspiration/Talks}

+ Video : AIGA

AIGA : ShiftED
{shifting, inside-out: decolonizing the classroom}

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Ramon Tejada, Rhode Island School of Design
Archana Shekara, Illinois State University
Pouya Jahanshahi, Oklahoma State University
Community volunteer/moderator : Dave Pabellon, Columbia College Chicago

Live event recorded on Wednesday August 4th 2021.

Here is the link to watch the Zoom recording.
{AIGA > Inspiration/Talks}

+ Video : AIGA

SADEA : CHAI TIME
{brown identity, where do we fit?}

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Facilitated SADEA’s first public panel discussion brought forth many individual stories of adaptation, model-minority myths, perceptions and perspectives, challenges, and growth. We ended our conversation with the need for empathy, understanding, learning and respect.

Live event recorded on December 16th 2022.

Here is the link to watch the Zoom recording.
{SADEA > CHAI TIME}

+ Video : SADEA.Community

At the Table
{appropriation + adaptation + allyship}

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Interviewed by Dr. Kantara Souffrant

Assistant Professor of Global/Non-Western Art History and Visual Culture at Illinois State University

{At the Table Conversation with Archana Shekara and Kantara Souffrant}

Invited by Dr. Kantara Souffrant to share my research about transnational identity adopting new cultural values while preserving heritage, appropriation and seeking allyship through Indian cuisine.

+ Video : University Galleries, Illinois State University

Tell It To Neil Season 2, Podcast Series
{cultural identity and tenure :
making connections through design}

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Interviewed by Neil Ward

Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Drake University

Season 2 : Episode 5
{http://tellittoneil.com/archana-shekara/}

Professor Neil Ward invited me to share my research projects, teaching cultural identity, and progress towards earning tenure and promotion at Illinois State University. It is hoped that my interview informs other faculty during their tenure process.

+ Image credit : Tell it to Neil

Understanding Contemporary China
{designing cross-cultural awareness through typography : understanding heritage and cultural identity of china}

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Invited by Dr. Luis Canales, Director of Office of International Studies and Programs to present before with Zhao Jian, the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China. I presented the partnership between Illinois State University with Shanghai Normal University Tianhua College of Art + Design, and the 3+1 program in graphic design in the Wonsook Kim School of Art. I shared my teaching and scholarship and curated Designing Authenticity : Shanghai-Normal, an exhibition of student work from both institutions.

News, Illinois State University
{Consul General Zhao Jian to speak on U.S. China Relationship}
{A new type of collaboration with China: Typography class explores culture with Shanghai university}

+ Author : Rachel Hatch