ILLUSTRATOR, DESIGNER, EDUCATOR AND CHAIR OF BFA ILLUSTRATION & BFA COMICS AT SVA

Viktor Koen is an award winning illustrator, designer and educator. He holds a BFA in Design from the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem and an MFA in Illustration with honors from the School of Visual Arts. His client list includes the NYTimes, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, Esquire, Nature, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Wired, ESPN, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, Fortune, Money, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Penguin Random House, Doubleday, Harper Collins, Rizzoli, Houghton Mifflin, Tor Books, Atlantic Records, Virgin, BBC and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. 

He is the Chair of BFA Illustration and BFA Comics Departments at the School of Visual Arts and founded the SVA Illustration Residency in 2007. A TED speaker, Mr. Koen lectures for academic institutions and conferences worldwide while serving among others, on the Adobe Photoshop Advisory Council and the Photoville board of directors.

Distinctions include: American Illustration Awards, Graphis Gold Awards, 3×3 magazine Educator of the Year and the Communication Arts magazine Award of Excellence.

CARTOONIST, EDUCATOR

Cartoonist Jason Little was a Yaddo fellow in 2024. Borb, his daily strip collection,was a 2016 silver medal winner at Society of Illustrators. Motel Art Improvement Service was an Eisner nominee for best web comic in 2007. Shutterbug Follies was a 2003 Harvey Award nominee for best graphic novel, andwon Ignatz awards for best web comic (2002) and best graphic album (2003). His first published comic book, Jack’s Luck Runs Out, was a 1998 Xeric Grant winner. He holds the position of Comics Coordinator in BFA Comics at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

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DIRECTOR OF VISUAL ARTS

Joy Pace is the Director of Visual Arts, where she leads professional learning and provides ongoing support for visual arts educators across New York City. With a deep commitment to arts education for all, Joy advances initiatives that empower both teachers and students through meaningful, relevant, and culturally responsive instruction.

Joy received a grant from the Joe and Clara Tsai Social Justice Fund Foundation to develop a student-centered curriculum focused on the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Now in its sixth year, the project amplifies student voice and choice, has grown into a sustained partnership, and culminates annually in a student exhibition at Barclays Center.

Joy began her career as the sole art teacher at PS 7 in East Harlem—an experience that continues to shape her belief in supporting arts educators at every stage of their careers. In her previous role as Brooklyn North Borough Arts Director, she collaborated with superintendents and principals to expand arts access and resources throughout the district.

She is passionate about ensuring that all students receive a high-quality arts education—one where teachers nurture individual voice, critical thinking, and reflection

EDUCATOR

Pauline Kim was born and raised in New York. She studied Graphic Design at the School of Visual Arts, where she later earned a Master of Arts in Teaching in Arts Education in 2014. Early in her career, she held various design positions before transitioning into art education. She has worked with organizations such as the Joan Mitchell Foundation and Art and Heart, a private art academy focused on art therapy.

Pauline spent 11 years teaching in the New York City public school system, including positions at a 6–12 school in Flushing, the East-West School of International Studies, and I.S. 145 Joseph Pulitzer Magnet School of Innovation and Applied Learning in Jackson Heights. She currently teaches Digital Media Design and Communication Design at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School.

EDUCATOR

Joanne Riina-Denune is an art educator with twenty years of experience working within the New York City Department of Education. She is currently the visual art teacher at NYC LAB School in Chelsea, where she teaches a design thinking course, in addition to a studio elective and portfolio prep course for seniors. Prior to this position, she taught visual art at LAB Middle School for fifteen years, where she established a partnership with The Whitney Museum and developed an original curriculum grounded in the creative process and connecting it across disciplines. She acquired her undergraduate degree from Pace University and her master's degree from the School of Visual Arts (MAT 2004). When life allows it, she develops her own craft through mixed media illustrations in her home in Brooklyn alongside her husband and eleven-year-old son

ILLUSTRATOR, EDUCATOR

Aaron Meshon is an illustrator, designer, entrepreneur, and creative thinker whose career has taken him from editorial illustration and advertising to products, maps, murals, and children’s books. His work appears in magazines, on food trucks, and in books and products around the world.

His first children’s book, Take Me Out to the Yakyu, was named one of The New York Times’ best illustrated children’s books of 2013 and received four starred reviews. He has also written and illustrated Tools Rule!, The Best Days Are Dog Days, Delivery, and Now That I’m Here. He illustrated Tomorrow Is Waiting, written by Kiley Frank, and continues to develop new books.

Aaron teaches illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and has been a guest lecturer at RISD, MICA, UArts, FIT, and other schools. He lives and works in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where he is a member of the Railroad Street Collective.

ILLUSTRATOR, MAKER, EDUCATOR

ShinYeon Moon (Shin) is a Korean American illustrator and educator based in New York. Her work moves between children’s books, editorial illustration, murals, and exhibitions, often drawing on her love of character, imaginative worlds, and stories about family and community.

Shin illustrated the picture books Laolao’s Dumplings, written by Dane Liu, and Once Upon a Friend. Her clients include The New York Times, Oprah Daily, Carhartt, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, and the Art Directors Club, and has been exhibited in New York, Japan, and elsewhere.

Shin holds an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts. She teaches BFA Illustration at both SVA and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and leads workshops on picture books and zine making.