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Marisa Hetzler — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:13:16 -0400

CUP’s core staff supports the organization from day to day, but CUP projects are designed and implemented by teams of artists, designers, educators, activists, and researchers.

Announcing The2022 Cup Fellow For Change In Design

Emma Kilroy — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:51:27 -0400

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Yasmin is a recent graduate from College for Creative Studies and is a graphic designer currently based in Brooklyn. She is interested in using design as a tool to examine questions pertaining to race, gender identity, and the other complex systems we live within. Check out some of Yasmin’s past work here!

As CUP’s Fellow for Change in Design, Yasmin will be working with us full-time for the next year, collaborating on community-engaged design projects, working as CUP’s in-house designer, and participating in mentoring opportunities. We’re so excited to welcome Yasmin to our team!

We are so grateful to our panel of jurors and all of the designers who took time to apply to the 2022 Fellowship, and especially to our amazing finalists. It was a pleasure and honor for us to get to know and showcase so many wonderful emerging designers!

What’s the Fellowship for Change in Design?

The CUP Fellowship for Change in Design is an effort to support the development of a pipeline of skilled individuals from marginalized communities into the design fields, and to dismantle the systemic biases that stand in the way of their advancement as leaders in these fields. We created the Fellowship as a way to leverage CUP’s unique position at the confluence of design and social justice to promote change in the design fields.

The program supports Fellows in gaining the skills, contacts, and experience to help them excel in their design careers. The Fellow works at CUP full-time for a year, collaborating on our community-engaged design projects as part of the CUP team, working as an in-house designer, and participating in mentoring opportunities.

Imagining Alternatives

Emma Kilroy — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 14:11:48 -0400

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As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, gun violence and hate crimes in New York City continue to increase, disproportionately impacting poor and working-class Black, Brown, and immigrant communities. The mayor’s office has responded by increasing police budgets, while continuing to systematically underfund social services and community programs. How could the city respond to hate crimes in ways that actually address the causes of violence? Developed for a three-day workshop at Forsyth Satellite Academy, this public curriculum is for educators and anyone interested in using art education to think collaboratively about defunding the police.

You can download this curriculum for free by filling out this short survey here.

Whos An Essential Worker

Marisa Hetzler — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 14:09:11 -0400

Projects/TeacherTrainings/WhosAnEssentialWorker

Who’s an essential worker? Who decides?

This curriculum guide uses design and art as tools for research and investigation.You can use these lessons to explore how essential workers are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, who benefits from their work, and how they can have more of a say over their working conditions.

This curriculum is designed for educators and students engaged in distance learning. Each lesson can be easily adapted for different levels of access to technology. You can use these activities individually, or as a series.

These activities have been designed with high schoolers in mind, but many of these activities can be adapted for younger students.

You can download this curriculum for free by filling out this short survey here.

Apply To Design For Civic Change

Clair Beltran — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 15:31:59 -0400

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During this program, participants will learn about effective community engagement and anti-oppressive facilitation from CUP and other leaders in the community-engaged design field. Participants will get peer feedback and one-on-one coaching as they implement a community-engaged design project, and build a community of practitioners to support ongoing work in the field.

Design for Civic Change is for people working within city, state, regional, or tribal governments in the United States, who work directly with marginalized communities in a planning, service-delivery, or design role. To support the successful implementation of the skills and knowledge learned during the program, applicants are asked to apply as teams of two to three individuals working in the same agency or program. Throughout the program, these teams will workshop a specific project at their agency or an issue affecting their constituents and will create an implementation plan.

After the program, participants will be able to deepen their work with new techniques for stakeholder analysis, facilitating design conversations, communicating complex ideas in accessible ways, and addressing bias. They’ll also be able to equitably center marginalized communities in their work, and build confidence and trust within the communities they work in.

Learn more about the program and apply here! We also hosted a webinar where we talked about the program and answered any questions. Check out the video here.

All applications are due by 11:59pm Eastern time on Monday, June 20, 2022.

To apply, you will need to create an account on Submittable. Making an account will take no more than 2 minutes. Once you have an account, you’ll be able to answer the application questions. You’ll also need to upload a current resume for each member of your group and a letter of support from your government agency.

Please note that we will NOT review applications that do not provide all requested materials. No phone calls, please.

Join Us For Student Debut Presentations

Emma Kilroy — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 18:13:24 -0400

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Join us for the world premiere of Submerged! CUP Teaching Artist Chaparro and students from the School for Climate Justice teamed up to investigate why subway stations flood, and how we can work toward a greener future. Join us on Monday, June 6th at 5:00PM EST on Zoom for the debut of their final project!

Student Work Featured In Online Fair

Emma Kilroy — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 17:14:56 -0400

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Emoti-con celebrates the power of digital tools to create positive change in the world, and creates a forum for celebrating the ideas of youth with identities that have been historically excluded from media and tech industries. This year, over 700 young people submitted projects, including websites, podcasts, social media campaigns, videos, and apps. Congratulations to the ICHS students for having their work featured!

Visit the online fair here to watch ¿Qué lo qué South Bronx? and check out all the other amazing student work!

Meet The2022 Change In Design Finalists

Emma Kilroy — Tue, 24 May 2022 15:30:47 -0400

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Jonai Gibson-Selix is a multi-disciplinary designer based in Philly whose practice lives at the intersections of design and culture, identity, and justice. Here, she challenges boundaries through her process of co-learning and co-creation to ensure that connection, access, and care are reflected at the forefront of her print, digital, and environmental experiences.

Jonai is just a few days away from holding her BFA in Graphic Design [Black Art History minor] from the University of the Arts and currently serves as the Art Director of Tessera Arts Collective.

Cup Announces Leadership Transition

Marisa Hetzler — Tue, 17 May 2022 12:57:36 -0400

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After joining us as Executive Director in 2009, our leader and dear friend Christine Gaspar will step down from her role in September 2022, to make space for the next exciting chapter in the organization’s story. With Christine’s unwavering support, the Board has begun a search for a new executive director.

“On behalf of the entire Board, we want to recognize the extraordinary work by Christine and her ability to guide and transform the organization. Her leadership, passion, and vision has placed CUP in such a strong position, ready to take on new challenges and opportunities,” said Board Co-Chair Ariel Fausto. “Christine’s commitment and ability to create a culture within the organization that emphasizes invention and collaboration in thoughtful ways is so meaningful. The solid grounding she has built will no doubt support the success of our next leader,” added Co-Chair Sabrina Hall.

It would be impossible to overstate Christine’s legacy at CUP. It’s been marked by the steady growth of the organization and deepening of its impact, as well as a commitment to racial justice and equity. “I grew up helping my family navigate city services through class and language barriers,” Christine says. “CUP’s work is so meaningful to me because we center community members’ lived experiences in the work, and leverage the power of design to remove those barriers and support lasting change.”

Today, CUP is a national leader in the community-engaged design space, whose work has been recognized with the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Institutional Achievement and a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, among others. CUP’s deep collaborations with grassroots partners continue to create tools for building community power both locally, and now nationally.

“I’m so proud of the work I’ve done here with our incredible staff,” Christine said, “and I’m excited to see where CUP goes next.”

The CUP Board is conducting a search for a new Executive Director who can lead the organization into its next chapter. Christine will stay on through September to support the on-boarding of the next leader and provide a smooth transition for the organization.

Do you know a leader in community-engaged design practices with a commitment to racial justice and equity? Encourage them to apply!

The CUP community is a critical part of CUP’s success. We hope you’ll join us in getting the word out and helping us find and support CUP’s next leader!

On behalf of the board and staff, we thank Christine deeply for her vision, determination, and immensely thoughtful partnership over many years. Her impact has been felt far and wide by our team, our partners, and the communities for which we work.

With gratitude,
Sabrina Hall & Ariel Fausto,
CUP Board Co-Chairs

Help ensure CUP’s continued success during and beyond this transition. Make a donation today!

Learn more about the Executive Director position and apply here!

Home

Marisa Hetzler — Mon, 16 May 2022 17:50:40 -0400

The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of design and art to increase meaningful civic engagement.

CUP collaborates with designers, educators, advocates, students, and communities to make educational tools that demystify complex policy and planning issues.

We believe that increasing understanding of how these systems work is the first step to better, more equitable, and more diverse community participation.

Cup Featured In Brooklyn Utopias Outdoor Exhibit

Emma Kilroy — Tue, 03 May 2022 15:51:44 -0400

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We’re excited to showcase our student collaborators from Red Hook Community Justice Center, who spent this past summer working with a CUP teaching artist to investigate the impacts of marijuana legalization in their community. Learn more about this collaboration here.

Brooklyn Utopias: Along the Canal is presented by Arts Gowanus and the Old Stone House & Washington Park (OSH), and is on view now until June 26, 2022. Read more about the exhibition and accompanying public programs here!

Cup Receives Sappi Ideas That Matter Grant

Emma Kilroy — Tue, 03 May 2022 15:50:17 -0400

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This grant will help us expand the impact of Here to Stay, our collaboration with The Door and designer Grace Han. First launched in 2021, Here to Stay is a foldout poster that helps young undocumented immigrants learn about their options for staying in the United States. With support from Sappi, we’ll be translating Here to Stay into three new languages and creating an ad campaign in bus shelters across the city to help this important information reach even more young people.

Learn more about Here to Stay here, and check out the rest of this year’s Sappi Ideas that Matter winners here!

Action Oshpd Fs

Marisa Hetzler — Tue, 03 May 2022 15:24:24 -0400

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Break It Down

Marisa Hetzler — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 16:50:19 -0400

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Over the past several decades, many laws were passed to make the criminal and immigration legal systems more interconnected. As a result, the federal government, police, and prisons often share information about individuals and work together. This means that any contact with the police system can severely impact an individual’s immigration status. And in a system where immigrants of color are already disproportionately impacted by racist policing, this leads to even harsher consequences like deportation and family separation.

To help immigrants understand the risks of this contact, the Immigrant Justice Network (IJN) partnered with CUP and designer Emily Lin to create Break it Down! The bilingual English and Spanish guide explains the different ways that contact with the criminal legal system can impact your immigration status and how the systems are connected. With this information, immigrants can advocate for their rights when interacting with police and fight back against the unjust laws that impact them.

The Immigrant Justice Network launched Break it Down! at a training on decriminalization for community members in February 2022. The guide will be distributed to IJN’s network of local and regional immigrant rights organizations, criminal justice groups, and allied organizations.

Cup Is Hiring Three Full Time Positions

Clair Beltran — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 23:04:03 -0400

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Community Education Program Assistant: CUP is also seeking a full-time assistant to provide general project, organizational, and administrative support for our Community Education programs. Read more about the position and apply here.

Youth Education Program Coordinator: CUP is seeking a full-time coordinator to support our civically-engaged arts education programs for high school students. Learn more about the role and apply here.

Director of Operations and Development: CUP is seeking a Director of Operations and Development to manage and develop our financial and administrative operations, including fundraising, budgeting, people and culture, facilities, and information technology. Learn more about the role and apply here.

Applications for the Program Coordinator and Program Assistant will be accepted until noon Eastern time on Monday, May 16th. Applications for the Director position will be accepted until Wednesday, May 25th.

Cup Is Hiring Two Full Time Positions

Clair Beltran — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 17:19:35 -0400

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Meet The2022 Public Access Design Jury Summer

Amanda Finuccio — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 17:04:13 -0400

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Seher Khawaja is the Senior Attorney for Economic Empowerment at Legal Momentum, where she leads the Women Valued Initiative. Seher engages in litigation, policy advocacy, and educational outreach to advance economic security and workplace equality for women, with a focus on assisting women in low-wage work. Seher has a background in economic justice and human rights. She previously worked as a policy and legislative attorney for the New York City Housing Authority and has worked internationally with organizations in Burma, Haiti, Iraq, Israel, South Africa, and the United States on issues including housing rights, gender-based violence, minority rights, and economic security. Before law school, Seher consulted with the Democratic Governance Group at the United Nations Development Programme and worked for the International Democratic Governance practice for the World-Federalist Movement—Institute for Global Policy. She received her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, where she was a Sparer Public Interest Fellow. She also holds degrees in International Relations from the London School of Economics (M.Sc.) and the Johns Hopkins University (B.A.).

Gica Tam is an illustrator and printmaker based in New York City. They graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Information Design, and was honored with the Loyola Schools Awards for the Arts, excellence in Visual Arts: Illustration. In 2016, they completed a residency in Illustration and Visual Storytelling at the School of Visual Arts. They were a 2021 Public Access Design Fellow at the Center for Urban Pedagogy and an Artist-in-Residence at Bad Student. They are currently a Visual Designer at Google (via ASG). Their vibrant work is both ornate and minimalist which explores themes of food, folktales and identity. They create site-specific, community-based, and socially-engaged projects, and have exhibited and collaborated with numerous brands locally and internationally.

asad pervaiz is an independent creative director with interest and experience in the cultural sector and arts education. he has worked for mgmt. design, pentagram, omfgco, work-order and media arts lab where he specialized in editorial, exhibition, brand and interactive design. his work has contributed to exhibitions and programs at major museums and cultural festivals, including the national building museum and world pride 2019. asad has taught and lectured at yale, rutgers, and alfred universities on topics that include inclusivity in design and queer communication. as a member of the queering space artists collective, he works to promote visibility and encourage creativity for marginalized artists through exhibitions, workshops and programming. current and forthcoming projects include radical affirmation, a summer camp for queer youth in utrecht, netherlands, as well as an archival excavation, symposium and exhibition of materials held by the schwules museum, berlin, whose extensive archives document lgbtq life and history. asad received his bfa from the rhode island school of design and holds an mfa from the yale school of art.

Annie Carforo is the Climate Justice Organizer at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. She is responsible for engaging WE ACT members and residents of Northern Manhattan in the organization’s climate policy initiatives. Prior to joining WE ACT, Annie organized alongside New Yorkers experiencing homelessness on City and State legislation designed to improve access to high quality affordable housing. All of Annie’s organizing and policy experience is grounded in community led activism. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Human and Organizational Development with a focus on Community Development from Vanderbilt University and is currently pursuing a Master of Urban Planning degree at Hunter College with a focus on equity and sustainability in city planning.

Meet The2022 Public Access Design Jury

Amanda Finuccio — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 17:02:10 -0400

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Cup Is Hiring A Summer Intern

Clair Beltran — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 17:13:16 -0400

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This will be an in-person internship. Dates for the internship are flexible, but we’re looking for someone who can work for CUP at least 2, 8-hour days a week, for 10-weeks. Please include your availability in your cover letter. We have a preference for folks who can start before June. The internship pays $17 per hour, or you can choose to receive school credit if your school offers it.

To apply, you’ll need to create an account on Submittable, fill in your contact information, and upload the following materials:

+ A cover letter, in which you address why you are interested in this position, if you have any relevant skills or experiences for the position, and why you’d like to work at CUP.

+ A current resume

Applications will be accepted until noon Eastern time on Monday, April 18th. Please note that we will NOT review applications that do not provide all requested materials.No phone calls, please.

We understand that meeting this deadline might be a challenge for some. Please email apply@welcometocup.org if you need additional time. We will not review applications submitted after the deadline without prior notice.

CUP is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fair and inclusive employment practices, and strongly encourage Black, Indigenous, and people of color; women; LGBTQ individuals; people with disabilities; and others who may contribute to the diversification of ideas to apply.

Meet The2022 Public Access Design Fellows

Marisa Hetzler — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 12:06:30 -0500

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This year’s Fellows are:

Get to know the 2022 cohort here!

Special thanks to jurors renald Louissaint, Dr. Carole Gothelf, Ting Ting Fu, and Boyeon Choi for their support selecting this year’s cohort.

Design Fellows

Marisa Hetzler — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 17:35:50 -0500

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Hua Chen (they/them) is a designer, illustrator, and learner. They are currently working at Droga5 — previously, they have worked with Base Design and the Pratt Institute School of Design, among other studios and institutions. They work across identity, print, and digital spaces for clients in arts/culture, nonprofit, and education, and are learning about extra-institutional learning methods, community resilience, and sewing. They received a BFA in Communications Design in 2019 from Pratt Institute. Currently, they live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with their cat and a growing collection of books surrounding the lore and science of trees.

hchndesign.com

Collaborations

Marisa Hetzler — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 17:32:55 -0500

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Cup Is Now Accepting Applications For Public Access Design

Marisa Hetzler — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 17:25:20 -0500

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Public Access Design projects are intensive 4 to 6-month collaborations with CUP, a designer, and an NYC-based community organization. Collaborations result in a pocket-sized guide that breaks down and demystifies a complex social justice issue. Projects are concise in scope and often cover urgent topics. Organizations will receive 1,000 free copies of the project.

We’re looking for organizations who work directly with the people impacted by the issue and who can directly distribute the completed booklet or poster to those people. Applicants should be interested in engaging in a collaborative design process and, most importantly, should be interested in explaining an aspect of public policy!
We define public policy broadly proposed projects can address:

• policies (like like the right to safe housing in prison for TGNCNB individuals)

• systems (like navigating the various housing vouchers), or

• processes (like getting your stuff back after and arrest)

Applications are due by Monday, April 4 at 11:59pm EST.

Ready to Apply? Click here to start your application.

Questions? Click here to watch our webinar.

Public Access Design

Amanda Finuccio — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 14:19:31 -0500

Projects/PublicAccessDesign

Public Access Design is CUP’s series of projects that use design to make complex urban issues accessible to the New Yorkers most affected by them.

Public Access Design projects are short, intensive collaborations of CUP, an artist or designer, and a community organization that is working to break down a complex policy or planning issue that affects its constituents. The collaboration results in a visual tool that meets an advocate’s organizing needs as they arise—getting information directly to communities where they are, and when they most need it.

The goal is to put more, and more kinds, of powerful visual tools in the hands of people working on critical social justice issues.