Manoj P. Kesavan is a designer/educator/community organizer based in Charlotte, NC, USA. He is the Founder and Executive Director of BOOM Charlotte, a multidisciplinary artist collective and non-profit that addresses issues of equity, access and opportunity in the community through innovative and collaborative cultural programming.
Their main program, the annual BOOM Festival, was launched in 2016 and has grown into the largest, most diverse gathering of creatives in the city, showcasing the work of hundreds of regional and national artists and organizations. The BOOM Echoes initiative works with artists and organizations in the most underserved/minority neighborhoods of Charlotte to create spaces for culture and community. Their other initiatives range from the design of an off-the-grid free rural clinic in Haiti to running the Pecha Kucha Night series in Charlotte.
Trained as an architect and urban designer, Kesavan has been adjunct design faculty as well as a visiting lecturer/panelist/juror at several universities in the US, UK and India. He also consults on urban design/planning, and community engagement projects. His articles/interviews have appeared in professional and popular publications internationally.
Kesavan has been a consultant/advisor for public art master planning and selection initiatives for both governmental and private entities. He served as a Public Art Commissioner for Charlotte-Mecklenburg for 6 years, and currently serves on the Inclusive Public Art Advisory Council for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.