Hannah Seeto

UTS Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication (Honours) graduate Hannah Seeto has facilitated an evolution of her honours project, ‘Conversations about our culture’, in workshops with the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion during Mental Health Week 2022.

‘After personally experiencing racism during the pandemic, I decided to focus my research on cultural identity and racism toward Asian Australians,’ she said.

‘My research led me to design “Conversations about our culture”, a participatory workshop that explores unconscious racism towards Asian Australians through shared group discussion, collectively making 'discursive' design objects and reflecting upon one's cultural identity.’

The workshop was then adapted to have a stronger focus on how racism impacts mental health and wellbeing, and re-worked to expand the participation from specifically Asian-Australians to People of Colour and non-People of Colour.

Hannah acknowledged her teachers in the Faculty of Design Architecture and Building for giving her the opportunity to work on a project she felt so strongly about.

 

The UTS Design Honours program allowed me to discover what I was passionate about and gave me time to navigate through my research and understanding of race and culture. The program, lecturers and my peers all created a space where we were encouraged to delve deeper into challenging topics and respond in creative ways that draw out nuances in individual experiences.

— Hannah Seeto

She appreciates the opportunity and support she received to present the workshops for Mental Health Week.

‘Working with UTS Centre for Social justice & Inclusion, especially Dr Elaine Laforteza, has been empowering, as she strongly believed in the importance of these issues and providing a space for the workshop to run to its full potential.’

The workshops were held at UTS and acted as a reflection space for People of Colour, as well as an awareness and educational experience for those who do not identify as a Person of Colour. The workshop material was viewed through the lens of an Asian-Australian point of view and focused on cultural identity and unconscious racism towards People of Colour and how it affects mental health and well-being.