Drawing Party

“Drawing Party” is Sanika Phawde’s interactive piece that explores the intersections between information and democracy. Sanika created and displayed in New York City store windows posters for an event that didn’t exist. The aim was to see how people would react to the poster. Most people don’t read the fine print. Media channels have become clogged with fake news, circulating misleading information that often incites hatred. With the posters for a nonexistent event, Sanika hoped that people who happened upon them would realize they were being misled and would reconsider the verity of the media they consume daily. With the fear and distrust of media pervading the U.S. after the recent election, Sanika’s aim is to address the issue of what it means to consume knowledge in a democracy where anybody is allowed to establish their opinion as knowledge and circulate it freely.