A Visual Celebration of Immigration

Mannah, Ruaida Mannaa

Savannah, Georgia: Savannah College of Art and Design

2019-05

Thesis (M.F.A.) -- Illustration

Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Illustration

Bibliography: pages 65-67

"Immigration is an undeniable fact in today’s world. We are constantly surrounded by it, the foundation of our society is one of diverse nature, of cultures meeting and coming together, of exchanging knowledge, habits, stories, meals, parties, clothes, art and music among many other elements. Yet, a negative narrative has been constructed around this phenomenon, one that focuses on fearful ideas of immigrants invading lands. This narrative aims to put walls between society, to divide races and discourage relations between different cultures. This paper focuses on exploring the current view on immigration in order to disprove the myths around it and to showcase it in a new light. The goal is to present the positive side of immigration through stories of cultures coming together, learning from one another and building a richer cultural experience. Illustration is explored as a tool to ignite positive change, by understanding and manipulating design principles and by representing cultures through visual elements. This exploration is used to develop a series of visual statements in conceptual illustrations that celebrate the similarities and differences that hold together our culturally diverse society."

Keywords: immigration, celebration, cultural exchange, diversity, visual communication, cultural symbols, visual metaphor, conceptual illustration, immigrants, journey

CHAIR: Lieberman, Julie

Danawi, Mohamed

Sanchez, Ryan

English

Illustration

Text

PDF : 67 pages, illustrations (some color)

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