Day 2, Stream 3
Chair
Janet Bellotto
Panelists
Adina Hempel: Interior Design, College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
Scott Conard: New Media, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
Kevin Badni: American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Janet Bellotto: College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES/ABSTRACTS
Kevin Badni CAAD Labs
The College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at the American University of Sharjah has invested heavily in digital technology. This goes beyond just computers and software and has moved into the realm of physical computing. This talk discusses digital technology within CAAD and how students react to it and how it is being incorporated across the College’s programs.
Kevin Badni worked for 10 years as an Industrial Designer and Digital Media Manager before becoming an academic. During his academic career Kevin was the Masters program Director at Loughborough University’s Design School before taking his current position as Head of Department of Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Kevin’s research interest areas lies in the use of augmented and virtual reality and the engagement of high-end technology to create visually engaging art. Kevin has exhibited at the Design Centre, London, City Art Gallery and Cube Gallery, Leicester, Righton Gallery, Manchester and The Poly in Falmouth in the UK and the Object Gallery, Sydney in Australia.
Adani Hempel ISEA: an incubator towards a urban research think tank at the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Zayed University
- urban cultures in the Middle East
- cities as cultural and knowledge hubs
- mapping and building the future territory (locations on maps) of Dubai
- how ISEA, a citywide festival, can be a tool to revive public space and establish an urban research culture in the UAE
Adina Hempel serves as Assistant Professor of Interior Design in the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at the Zayed University in Dubai, UAE. Her work focuses on public space, urban cultures in the Middle East, impact assessment for social design, and sustainable urbanism. She has received a Dipl.-Ing. Architecture (Master of Architecture) from the Technical University of Dresden, Germany, is an Architect and Urban Designer, and has worked in architectural offices in Germany, Switzerland and the UAE. She now runs a multidisciplinary design practice, and co-founded in 2011 the interdisciplinary community based design association tasmena, fostering sustainable urban development in the MENA region.
Scott Michael Conard From Mouse Hack to iPad: New Media in the UAE at Zayed University
A discussion of Myfanwy Ashmore’s Mouse Hack workshop and the student outcomes developed as a precursor to ISEA2014. The different outcomes are compared between Zayed University’s two campuses and the ideas that are motivating future projects. The talk is followed by examples of what is happening with new media at the university, and an iPad pilot project.
Scott Michael Conard, born in Livingston, Montana, spent most of his formative years in Cleveland Hts., OH and calls it home. Scott has a loving family complete with an older brother and a younger sister, and is an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Allegheny College with a Bachelor of Arts in Arts and Technology in May 2002. While at Allegheny he was involved with service and leadership development. He was an AmeriCorps Bonner Leader for the French Creek Project, a Founding Father of the Alpha Chapter of the Dela Tau Delta Fraternity, a Re-Visioning Founder of the Allegheny Service Network, and a Big Brother for Big Brothers and Sisters. After graduating he spent a year helping to teach Computer Art at Allegheny whilst also being a Program Manager for the French Creek Project, a non-profit environmental firm located in NW, PA. Scott completed his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Cincinnati in June 2005, and in the subsequent years taught at the University of Kentucky, the University of Montevallo in Alabama and Millersville University in PA. From 2008–12 he was an Assistant Professor of Art/Graphic Design at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas, and is currently an Assistant Professor of New Media at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. www.scottmichaelconard.com
Janet Bellotto is an artist from Toronto who splits her time teaching as an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Creative at Zayed University, Dubai. She is also the Artistic Director of ISEA2014 — an international symposium of art, science and technology that will be hosted in Dubai in November 2014. Her work encompasses sculpture, installation, photography, video and performance. Swinging chandeliers, oceans and ships, and sound are elements that have shaped Bellotto’s work as waves of experience that are fluid and aqueous. Her practice also encompasses curating and writing, and engages in projects that promote cultural exchange. Curatorial exhibitions include: Tessellation Make-Up, Gallery Zilberman, Istanbul; Resurrection des Mannequins, Contemporary Crosscurrents, with Streaming Museum, Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai and Portfolio Gallery, Dubai; No Such Place II, Roger Smith Hotel, New York; and Nature in the Gararge, Toronto. Some recent exhibitions/projects include: The Infusion of Impossible Things, XVA Art Hotel and Gallery (2013); Nile Blue, Red Head Gallery, Toronto; Aquatica, Harvey Nichols, Dubai (2012); The Lure, De Luca Fine Art Gallery; Contemporary Crosscurrents: Portraits and Electronic Arts, Streaming Museum in Dubai (www.streamingmuseum.org); A Cozy Lie, Redhead Gallery, Toronto (2011); 12th Cairo Biennale, Cairo, Egypt; Drowning Ophelia, Stratford Gallery, Stratford (2010); Point of Encounter, Tashkeel, Dubai (2009); In-Situ, The JamJar, Dubai; WAVE, The LAB, New York City (2008); Dehisce, kkprojects, New Orleans, USA (2007). www.janetbellotto.com
