Alison is an illustrator and educator from Silver Spring, Maryland. She moved to Providence six years ago to be in the Brown/RISD dual degree program, where she studied Illustration and Education. Much of her education ended up happening in Providence’s public schools, community arts organizations, and on bus/bike to those places. The segregation and inequality she saw made her wonder a lot about what public school is for. She spent time asking students to talk and draw about what public school should be and making work about what she learned. She got answers funny and serious, and ultimately hopeful, and heard a real need for adults in power to listen to youth voices.
She sees art as a tool of social imagination and mainly draws the world the way she wants it to be. By drawing people being brave, and having fun, and caring for each other she hopes that people who see her work will feel empowered to do these things and to regard with suspicion any forces that stand in their way. She sees her role as an educator in about the same way, and also tries to make a lot of room for playing and joking around in her art and her work with youth.
Alison paints, prints, and makes comics. She loves hot dogs and her fat cat Elvis.