Tag Archives: mona kasra

CentralTrak, the University’s artist residency and gallery, takes another look at new media and sonic art  this week and also plans a one-night showing of video game designs created by UT Dallas students.

The CentralTrak gallery and residency are both located at 800 Exposition Ave. in the historic neighborhood of Deep Ellum, near downtown Dallas. For more information, check the CentralTrak website or call (214) 824-9302. These events are free and open to the public.

Next Topic — Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.

CentralTrak Talk Series: Next Topic aims to culminate in-depth discussions about art and art practices. This fall, Next Topic examines new media art.

New media artist Alejandro Borsani will discuss his works, which explore the nature of perception and media representation. Borsani holds a MFA in electronic arts from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and an MFA in electronic visualization from the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

ex mus – Friday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m.

ex mus is an experimental music concert series that will highlight the works of both local and international composers and musicians.

The collective of experimental musicians, Andrew Jordan Miller, Jonathan Jackson, Chaz Underriner and Martian Back will kick off the series with their interpretations of Anatassis Phillippakopoulous, a contemporary Greek composer.

This event will be live-streamed at ustream.tv/channel/ex-mus.

Tiny Thumbs — Saturday, Nov. 10, 5-8 p.m.

CentralTrak will present a one-night-only showcase of game design from UT Dallas students. Tiny Thumbs is a pop-up video arcade of sorts, curated by PhD student Kyle Kondas.

Mona Kasra has combined her Iranian culture with her graduate studies in emerging media and communication (EMAC) to organize an interactive panel for the upcoming South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival in Austin.

The annual South by Southwest Interactive Conference is one of the most popular events of its type.

The panel, “2009 Iran Election: Women’s Revolution? Twitter Revolution?,” will address how Iranian women surprised onlookers with their participation in the events surrounding the contested vote last year.

Panel members will discuss what led to the sudden appearance of women in dissent, a previously invisible part of Iranian society, and what role emerging media played.

“Having a panel selected for SXSW is a tremendous achievement,” said Dr. David Parry, assistant professor of EMAC at UT Dallas.

“This is one of the largest and most popular conferences of the year — I think they had over 2,000 submissions,” Parry said. “The fact that Mona’s panel was selected speaks to the strength and importance of her work.”

Besides Kasra, panelists include Dr. Parry; Shireen Mitchell, a self-proclaimed “digitalsista” and advocate for women in technology, media and politics; and Roja Bandari, an Iranian-born women’s rights activist. The panel is scheduled for Sunday, March 14, at 11 a.m. at the Austin Convention Center.