AIGA/NY Board Spotlight: Sarah van Anden

As an Art History major, Sarah van Anden knew NYC was the only place to launch her career. However, what she didn’t know was that the path NYC would take her on would lead into the Design world.

As Senior Program Manager for The Center for Curatorial Leadership, Sarah has worked closely with curators at museums and visual arts organizations. It was in this role that she saw how design was essential to these institutions. Design’s importance enticed Sarah to deepen her understanding of the discipline. That’s one reason she joined the AIGA/NY board.

Though Sarah isn’t a designer herself, she helps connect AIGA/NY to NYC’s broader arts community. Currently, she is using her knowledge to help AIGA/NY’s Development team promote the extraordinary contributions of NYC’s design community. Personally, Sarah believes that design, both functional and aesthetic, radically improves people’s lives (whether they realize it or not).

Sarah’s vision for the design community of NYC is one of collaboration and inclusion: While artists and designer’s share goals and interests, as Sarah has put it, “the professional sectors of design and the visual arts are often segregated, even as the borders between artist and designer increasingly blur/overlap. I think it is to the detriment of both communities (design & visual arts) and hope to see this partnership evolve in the near future, in order to encourage more collaboration and open discussion about different models and approaches to problem solving.” All of AIGA/NY benefits from such outsider thinking.