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Mona Kasra

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Mona Kasra is a digital multimedia artist and Assistant Professor in Digital Media Design at the University of Virginia.[1]

She holds a PhD in Arts and Technology from the University of Texas at Dallas, as well as an MFA in Video/Digital art and a BA in Graphic Design.[2]

Kasra has exhibited at the Omni Dallas Hotel (exterior) and the W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery[3] and has presented at The Society for Photographic Education (SPE)[4] The Society for Literature Science and the Arts (SLSA), Union for Democratic Communications (UDC), SXSW Interactive, and Social Media & Society.[2]

Personal life

She is an Iranian-American woman. Kasra was born and raised in Tehran. Kasra was involved with the Iranian Women's Right's Movement (Campaign of One Million Signatures) in 2006.[5]

Work

In a statement about the focus of her work[clarification needed] says “A cross-disciplinary scholar, Mona examines political and theoretical questions about the power of online images in our digital culture and cross-culturally in her research.”[6]

Teaching

Kasra is an Assistant Professor of Digital Media Design at the University of Virginia (UVa).

Research

The thesis of her dissertation revolves around “the power of image in our culture and cross-culturally, and offers a fresh point of view in understanding how online groups center around sociopolitical goals and under what conditions the organization and mobilization of the local and global public spheres lead to alternative forms of action”[5]

She states that she was motivated to research this because of her “curiosity about how in the age of networked technology individuals come together and unanimously work towards achieving targeted sociopolitical goals, using socio-technical systems.”[5]

Inspired by her heritage, she also has researched Iranian women's use of the blogosphere and networked technology to bring to light and oppose cultural and social gender inequalities in Iran.[5]

Art

Notable works

Infrequency (Interactive Installation, July 2016, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC)

An interactive installation that shows audience injustices taking place in the present world and allows them to add sound/their voice to it.

It's Misogyny That Is Humiliating – Selfie Rally #3 (Gif Animation, 2013)

This work was a response to a judge's order that made a Kurdish/Iranian convict walk around in public wearing women's clothing. It supported gender equality, renouncing the idea that the most embarrassing thing would be to be a woman.

#MAM52513 (March Against Monsanto May 25, 2013, Video. 28 min, 2013)

This work brings attention to the fact that in the present day much of the population is using digital networks to connect and do political campaigning.

Collectives

The DWZ

Kasra is an active member of the DWZ (standing for Dead White Zombies), which is a Dallas-based artist collective of 43 artists that formed in 2011.[7] They are a group of performance, visual, sound, and installation artists that are "dedicated to post-disciplinary, place-based explorations of new, old and yet to be revealed forms of performance. The DWZ mission is to develop a unique Dallas aesthetic and encourage original, experimental, and collectively created work that defies categories and convention as it seeks to unravel the complexities of our time, culture, and place.”[6] Kasra took part in the projects Flesh World, (w)hole, T.N.B., and Karaoke Motel by creating video content.[7]

Collage Ensemble

Kasra joined the Collage Ensemble in 2005, “a Los Angeles Arts Collective of inter-disciplinary artists collaborating on multi-media artwork related to urban life and inter-ethnic experiences.”[6] Collage Ensemble Inc. lasted from 1984 to 2012.

inter.sect art collective

According to Kasra, inter.sect art collective is “a group of digital artists who used new media platforms to explore digital exhibition spaces outside the traditional gallery model.”[6] The collective was founded and is directed by Christi Nielsen.

Leadership positions

ACM SIGGRAPH

In 2011 Kasra served as the Art Gallery Chair for ACM SIGGRAPH.[8] For this, she organized and presented the gallery exhibit. The exhibit was created in the form of a juried selection of digital media works that “explore the concept of home in the age of networked technology.”[9] This exhibit reflects Kasra's works, highlighting issues of social justice and human rights.

In 2016 she was the ACM SIGGRAPH Conference Chair. Her role was to assist in the strategic planning, leading, and managing of the conference. ACM SIGGRAPH is one of the world's largest annual conference on the theory and practice of computer graphics and interactive techniques.

Board of Directors for Video Association of Dallas

Kasra has served on the Board of Directors for Video Association of Dallas. The Video Association of Dallas was founded in 1986, and in 1987 started the Dallas Video Festival (DVF) which is now the oldest and longest video festival in the United States. The event seeks to showcase independent, alternative, and non-commercial video while creating an open discussion between creators and the audience as well as within the community.[10] Kasra's job on the Board of Directors was to manage, program, curate, and jury for film festivals and exhibition, art exhibitions, and lecture series.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Faculty Bio: UVA Dept of Drama".
  2. ^ a b "Mona Kasra". monakasra.com.
  3. ^ "Mona Kasra". Artslant.
  4. ^ Decamous, Gabrielle (2013). "Golden Anniversary: Society for Photographic Education 50th annual conference". Afterimage. 40 (6): 7.
  5. ^ a b c d "mona kasra · mona kasra". monakasra.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  6. ^ a b c d e "mona kasra · mona kasra". monakasra.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  7. ^ a b "Dead White Zombies in Dallas, Tx". Dead White Zombies. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  8. ^ "In Search of the Miraculous Art Gallery Jury." Leonardo, vol. 45, no. 4, Aug. 2012, p. 366
  9. ^ Kasra, Mona1. "Introduction." Leonardo, vol. 44, no. 4, Aug. 2011, p. 349
  10. ^ "Video Association of Dallas". artandseek.org. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
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