Astrid Kensinger
Prof. Astrid Kensinger
Chair & Associate Professor, Graphic Design
Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar
Astrid Kensinger has pursued her art and design practice internationally, spending much time in Japan, Singapore, Australia and the USA. She uses her personal practice to inform her multidisciplinary research collaborations. Astrid interweaves information visualization, cartographic performance and performance art with graphic design to visually articulate site-specific narratives, intangible heritage, contemporary issues and the map as art. She has exhibited and presented her personal self-initiated work internationally in solo and group shows, in juried exhibitions and conferences. She has shown or staged works in the USA, UK, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Denmark, Japan, Cyprus, Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore, and more recently within the self-curated space of Facebook.
Astrid’s most recent multidisciplinary research collaborations have included facilitating, through co-design, dengue fever outbreak solutions (Skoll Foundation, Epihack Colombo, Sri Lanka), visualizing the research methodologies of linguists mapping and preserving endangered languages of South East (DIHA: Digital Intangible Heritage of Asia) and mapping ancient language migration in South East Asia with archaeologists.
Prior to becoming Chair of Graphic Design at VCUarts Qatar in 2020, Astrid taught at Queensland University of Technology in Interactive and Visual Communication where she was appointed Study Area Coordinator. From 2007-2018 she was an Assistant Professor in Visual Communication at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art Design & Media in Singapore where she also acted as Study Area Coordinator. In 2005-2006, she had a year teaching, workshop leading and guest lecturing at many of London’s top design schools, including London College of Communication, Central St Martins, Ravensbourne College, University of Brighton and University College for the Creative Arts at Epsom. During her time in Tokyo, she was a typography lecturer at Tama Art University.
Astrid’s industry experience as a designer includes being Media & Design Manager for the American Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo, Japan, as well as the Art Director for the American Club in Japan. She has freelanced as a designer, creating identity systems for sustainability in Singapore, political organizations in Europe, arts festivals in America, and web reporting music festivals in Japan. Much of her industry work has revolved around events, governmental policies, sustainability and/or cultural heritage.
Astrid holds an MFA with honors in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BA in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania.