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Graphic Artists Guild

2248 Broadway #1341
New York, NY 10024

Tel: (212) 791-3400

For MLK Day: Artists Who Serve

Graphic artists channel their talent and skills in service: to their clients, to their projects, and their audience. Service is at the core of what designers and illustrators do. For this year’s Martin Luther King Day, we asked our members what else they do in service. What projects have inspired them to better their communities? How have they contributed to making the world a better place?

We’re proud to feature Guild members who exemplify service.

Kathleen McLoughlin

Freelance Illustrator
Ingleside, IL

“Hey there! My name is Katie McLoughlin and I’m from the northern part of Illinois. I the past I’ve volunteered as sort of a helper in a special needs classroom in a middle school –– superfun! Nowadays I volunteer as a food packer at my local food pantry. I love it.

I’ve always love volunteering because I’ve felt very fortunate to live the life that I have. I’ve also received help when I’ve needed it and I just want to pay it forward.”

photo showing illustrator Kathleen McCloughlin with special needs students

Lara Kisielewska

Founder, Optimum Design & Consulting
New York, NY

“My name is Lara and I have owned a graphic design firm for 30 years in midtown Manhattan. Ten years ago I took a month to travel to Sri Lanka and work with kids who had been traumatized by an ethnic civil war that lasted nearly 30 years. With the end of the war, there was the need to rebuild schools and communities, and I traveled with seven other artists and educators to conduct workshops informed by art therapy that would help children heal through creative self-expression. My particular modality was collage, which seemed to me particularly apropos as it was about creating something from nothing, beautiful artwork from broken bits and pieces.”

Liz DiFiore

Freelance Children’s Illustrator
President of the Graphic Artists Guild
Beverly, MA

“Hi, I’m Liz DiFiore and I’m the current president of the Graphic Artists Guild as well as a freelance children’s illustrator. I’m based in Boston, Massachusetts. Service is really important to my career and has been my entire creative life. I’ve donated graphic design and illustration services to charities that help sexual assault victims, I’ve done graphic design work with the Red Cross of the greater Rochester area, and I continue to serve my industry on the Advocacy Committee of the Graphic Artists Guild, helping to support individual artists’ rights and workers’ rights.

In addition to that, I’m going to be mentoring Montserrat College of Art students this semester. I’m very excited to be able to give art students a lot of the opportunities that I never had going through art school, and just being able to make our industry a healthier, better, more inclusiv place. That means a lot to me.”