Design with People

Christine Gaspar is the Executive Director of the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), whose mission is to use the power of design and art to increase meaningful civic engagement, particularly among historically underrepresented communities. With an emphasis on social justice, Gaspar partners with designers and community organizations to create visually based educational tools that help demystify complex issues impacting their communities, from zoning law to immigrants’ rights. 

CUP's award-winning print, audio, video, and media projects, along with tactile interactive workshop tools, are in use by dozens of community organizers and tens of thousands of individuals in New York City and beyond. CUP projects have been featured in art and design contexts such as the Cooper-Hewitt Museum’s National Design Triennial, PS-1, and the Venice Biennale, and recognized with a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Institutional Achievement, the Curry Stone Design Prize, and the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award.

Previously, Gaspar was Assistant Director of the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio in Biloxi. In 2012, she was identified as one of the “Public Interest Design 100.” She holds Masters in Architecture and in City Planning from MIT, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, and  has taught in the Design & Urban Ecologies Program at Parsons The New School for Design, SVA, Pratt, and Mississippi State University.