Art and Philosophy
Walker Gawande is a professional illustrator with a background in philosophy. Originally from the U.S., he now lives in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje.
Walker completed his B.A. in philosophy at Skidmore college in 2019. His bachelor’s thesis proposed an architecture for understanding aesthetics which fully embraces the kinship of art, society, and politics. This became the backbone for his evolving methodology of illustration, one which understands the powers and effects of art in storytelling.
In 2021, this journey led him to focus his art on illustrating for journalism, covering social and political issues in Europe and the Global South.
Walker began pursuing journalistic illustration with Unbias the News, a Berlin-based, cross-border newsroom. Many of his assignments covered issues in South America, Africa, and India, which compelled him to consider new ways of visual storytelling which didn’t purely victimize its subjects, but also humanized them and their individual struggles.
He views collaboration as the key to impactful illustration, which is why he emphasizes brainstorming, drafting, and receiving critiques when working with his clients.
Since then, his work has been featured in various online publications, including African Arguments and shado.mag. With each project, Walker develops new styles and methods of illustration, making him a versatile illustrator.
He was the visual lead for the Sinking Cities Project, which won the 2023 Climate Journalism Award in the category Emerging Talent.
With his next projects, he will apply his methodology of illustration to data-driven storytelling, to expand the possibilities of art in journalism and beyond.
You can contact Walker for commissions and further info at walker.gawande@gmail.com.
