Curious, collaborative, and always drawing connections.

I’m Ahmed Asi, an illustrator, researcher, and writer based in New York City.

Across forms, I’m interested in how people create meaning: through stories, images, performance, digital spaces, and systems that shape both culture and everyday experience.

My illustrations draw inspiration from the books I’m reading (from literary fiction to sci-fi, gothic romance to academic theory), the performances I love (from ballet to blockbusters), and my own experiences moving between cultures and disciplines. I aim to create work that invites pause—images that linger in the mind and engender thought—and am especially drawn to projects in publishing, collaborations with cultural institutions, and brand storytelling that call for thoughtful, emotionally resonant visuals.

The cross-domain thinking I bring to visual storytelling is informed by my background as an interdisciplinary researcher. My doctoral work explored the overlap between performance studies and game studies. Combining ethnographic fieldwork, platform analysis, and close engagement with user-generated content and culture, I explored how people form communities and create meaning within online worlds. More recently, following my personal investment in the intersection of technology and everyday cultural practices, I developed LibbyScout, a browser extension designed to surface public library eBook availability directly on Goodreads.

I hold a PhD in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies from UC Santa Barbara, a diploma in classical acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), and a BA in Theater and Dance from Colby College. Along the way, I’ve taught acting, writing, and performance studies in Pakistan and the United States; collaborated on theatre, dance, and exhibition projects; presented research on digital culture and videogames; and published both scholarly and creative writing.

If you’d like to connect or collaborate, reach out at ahmedasi@gmail.com.