Céline Semaan-Vernon is a Lebanese-Canadian designer, writer, and activist. She is the founder of ''Slow Factory Foundation'', a 501c3 public service organization. She is on the Council of Progressive International, became a Director's Fellow of

MIT Media Lab The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fixed academic disciplines, but draws from ...

in 2016, and served on the Board of Directors of AIGA NY, a nonprofit design organization.

Career

Semaan began her career as a designer and community organizer; she worked as a user-experience designer for HUGE Inc., General Assembly, and

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's media ...

. Semaan works in the open knowledge and access to information movement, working with

Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

to bring the open licensing to Montreal, Lebanon and Qatar. Founding Slow Factory in 2012 while living in Montreal quickly brought her to New York in 2013 to continue to expand the intersection of environmental sustainability, social good, and fashion. As an artist and designer her work has been featured in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

and Cooper Hewitt in New York, the

de Young Museum The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the Legion of Honor ...

in San Francisco. Semaan is a recognized expert in the space of environmental and social justice. She coined the term

fashion activism Fashion activism is the practice of using fashion as a medium for social, political, and environmental change. The term has been used recurringly in the works of designers and scholars Lynda Grose, Kate Fletcher, Mathilda Tham, Kirsi Niinimäki, An ...

, and has also worked extensively to raise awareness of other issues and causes around social and environmental justice by broadening her platform, such as bringing the word ”decolonize” to the pages of popular fashion magazines She is known for her activism in social justice causes especially around refugees, cultural appropriation, and Arab identity, her advocacy for sustainable practices in fashion, and her work as a digital and product designer.

References

External links

Land Acknowledgement - Study Hall New York Times

Labor Acknowledgement In Advance Of Black History Month - Study Hall New York Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Semaan-Vernon, Celine 1982 births Living people Writers from Beirut Lebanese fashion designers Lebanese expatriates in the United States Lebanese activists Lebanese women activists Lebanese women fashion designers Artists from Beirut