Hi, I'm Ariana, a New York City-based participatory artist, designer, and cultural strategist.
I blend my deep experience in social work, cultural organizing, and community-centered design to help creative teams and mission-driven organizations address complex systems challenges. My work revolves around designing thoughtful experiences and programs that foreground equity and people power.
As a current Design Director at global design and innovation firm IDEO, I work with leaders to build solutions aimed at increasing equity and belonging across the organization's systems and culture. I've previously led artist-driven storytelling campaigns and education programming at The International Center of Photography, The Center for Cultural Power, and Youth Speaks.
Outside of my work life, I am a passionate advocate for housing justice. I help run the New York City chapter of the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project, a research and digital media collective that chronicles displacement and creates tools to resist gentrification in solidarity with affected communities. I've participated in residencies and fellowships with The Laundromat Project, Independent Curators International, Pioneer Works, Project Inkblot, and the New Museum's cultural incubator, NEW INC. My socially engaged art and research practice builds upon interests in Black visual and spatial histories, as well as the connections between cultural production and radical social change.
Image: Jess Tran