Pooja Venkatachalam Kumar

Visual designer Pooja Venkatachalam Kumar is an assistant professor of practice for the School of Art's Illustration, Design & Animation program from Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the SVU College of Engineering in Tirupati, India. She received her MFA in illustration and design from the Maryland Institute College of Art in May 2024.

Kumar’s current project, “Reconstruction of Nature without Reference,” applies speculative design principles to imagine a future where nature’s turn form is lost and … “what if we don’t have access to how nature looks in the future and find bones and fossils filled with junk and plastic, how will we reconstruct?”

Kumar has been a finalist in the AIGA Flux Design Competition, shortlisted for the Young Ones ADC and Communication Arts International Illustration Competition, and recognized with graduate grants and merit scholarships, participating in multiple exhibitions.

Artist website: poojavkumar.com