By the age of four, she started painting, B and at 10, she was an `artivist’ -using her art work to raise funds and create awareness about different social causes. Now, she is 23, and Anjali Chandrashekhar, has made the city proud! Two of her posters have been selected for a disarmament campaign by the United Nations (UN). In a recent event, which was attended by the top officials of the UN, including the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the two posters which she designed were unveiled. In a chat with Chennai Times, she talks about her journey as an artivist, the UN’s disarmament campaign, projects she plans to do in India and more. Excerpts…

TURNING AN ARTIVIST
I have been painting since the age of four. My grandmother ran a trust for children with multiple disabilities and growing up with them made me realise how lucky I was to be what people would call `normal’. When I started getting serious about art, I realised that I had this really powerful platform which I could use to talk about issues that I held close to my heart. That’s when it all began.I did most of my schooling in PSBB and was involved in art then as well. At the age of 10, I founded a global social project called Picture It. This project uses art to raise funds and awareness about health, humanitarian and environmental causes for many national and international organisations, including several campaigns associated with the UN. It was then that I realised I was really passionate about using my art for greater causes.

CAREER IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
I headed to New York to study industrial design at Pratt Institute, based in Brooklyn. It seemed like a good marriage of my passion for art and creating physical products that had a tangible impact on people’s lives. I was really excited to try working three dimensionally . There was so much more I could do with an object, and I loved how it was more engaging and interactive.Now, I work as a designer, researcher and consultant and I am trying to gain more experience working at the intersection of design, technology and social innovation.
POSTER DESIGN FOR THE DISARMAMENT CAMPAIGN
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs sponsored the UN Poster for Peace Contest, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the first UN General Assembly resolution, which established the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.The contest aimed to raise awareness for the need for nuclear disarmament and to inspire citizens across the globe to add their voices, and use their artistic talents, to promote a world free of nuclear weapons.Nuclear disarmament is usually spoken about on such a high level and I believe that art has the power to humanise us, and some of the most pressing issues that the world faces today . It is also able to transcend barriers of age, language and literacy, and so, I thought this was a great opportunity for me to show that the brush can be mightier than arms.

Earlier this year, I worked on a couple of posters around the theme of peace and nuclear disarmament when the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs had announced an international call for entries. With over 4,000 entries received from around the world, I had the honour of having two of my posters being chosen for the official 2016 campaign.

RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE BIGWIGS
Releasing the posters on May 3 with the Secretary General was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I will cherish forever. I also had the opportunity to meet Mogens Lykketoft (President of the General Assembly), Kim Won-soo (Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs), and actor Michael Douglas, who has been the longest standing UN Messenger of Peace. I got to speak with them and understand what they do and the challenges within the realm of nuclear disarmament. Ban Ki-moon also did an art interpretation of my poster.