Exhibition: October 20 – November 12, 2026
Posters for Peace: Voices from the Indian Context is an international design collaboration between the South Asian Design Educators Alliance (SADEA) and Design for Peace and Justice®. The initiative brings together twenty graphic designers and design educators from India and the Indian diaspora in the United States to explore and interpret the idea of peace within the Indian sociocultural context.
Curatorial Team
The exhibition is curated by:
Archana Shekara
Professor of Graphic Design, Illinois State University
Founder and Chair, SADEA
Pouya Jahanshahi
Associate Professor of Graphic Design, Oklahoma State University
Founder, Design for Peace and Justice®
Dr. Amrita Datta Haughn
Assistant Professor of Visual Communication Design, Indiana University Indianapolis
Vice Chair, SADEA
About the Exhibition
Each designer was invited to define, visualize, and communicate their understanding of peace through the medium of the poster. The result is a curated collection of twenty works offering varied interpretations of peace through spirituality, harmony, cultural heritage, social justice, and collective responsibility.
Posters have long served as a powerful medium of public communication. They convey urgency, provoke thought, and give visual form to social and cultural issues. Used historically in political movements, public awareness campaigns, and cultural expression, posters create direct and accessible connections between designers and their audiences.
In this exhibition, each poster offers a personal reflection on peace, inviting viewers to consider its meaning and possibilities. Some works take a direct, activist approach, while others explore peace through symbolism, cultural narratives, and philosophical reflection. Together, the works reveal a range of perspectives shaped by personal experience, shared histories, and cultural contexts.
Amid global uncertainty and conflict, Posters for Peace: Voices from the Indian Context creates space for reflection, dialogue, and cross-cultural understanding. The exhibition highlights the role of designers as cultural communicators and underscores the idea that peace is not passive. Rather, it is an active, collective process shaped by empathy, cooperation, and mutual respect.
About SADEA
The South Asian Design Educators Alliance (SADEA) is a registered nonprofit organization and global network connecting South Asian design educators across borders. Founded in 2020, SADEA grew from a desire to build community among educators in the diaspora and create opportunities for professional exchange, mentorship, and mutual support. Its work includes supporting educators in career development and institutional processes, guiding students in areas such as admissions and portfolio development, and fostering opportunities for collaboration. Through its programs and partnerships, SADEA also encourages a deeper understanding of the many identities, histories, and perspectives represented across South Asia and its diaspora, while strengthening connections throughout the design education community.
About Design for Peace and Justice®
Design for Peace and Justice® is an international poster initiative founded by Professor Pouya Jahanshahi. Over the past nine years, the project has developed a community-rooted archive through collaborations with co-curators in Iran, the United States, Mexico, China, Denmark, and India. The archive explores how peace and justice are understood across cultural and national contexts while recognizing their shared significance. Through touring exhibitions, an Instagram presence, and a website, the project aims to provide designers with a platform to direct their craft toward empathy and collective memory, and to sustain the project as an ongoing dialogue rather than a completed body of work. It also engages students and communities in considering peace as a fundamental human right, one that must be actively cherished and defended rather than assumed.