Biography
Since March 2014 I have been a Lecturer at UNSW Art, Design & Architecture, where I teach 3D visualisation, animation and media arts. As an educator with industry experience, I believe in encouraging my students to explore their creative potential within a supportive and productive studio-class setting. I'm an avid educator, animator and artist with more than 10 years higher education experience and an animation and visual art practice of over...view more
Since March 2014 I have been a Lecturer at UNSW Art, Design & Architecture, where I teach 3D visualisation, animation and media arts. As an educator with industry experience, I believe in encouraging my students to explore their creative potential within a supportive and productive studio-class setting. I'm an avid educator, animator and artist with more than 10 years higher education experience and an animation and visual art practice of over 20 years. I've had the opportunity to collaborate with film makers, artists and designers on inspiring projects.
Among my achievements I have accomplished writing and directing two short animations, gaining Screen Australia funding and several short film awards and nominations, including a nomination for Best Short Film for 'Pending' at the Venice Film Festival 2002. I worked on the SBS supported animation series "Heirlooms" which earned recognition with a shortlisting at the Annecy Animation Festival in 2011 and co-led a team of UNSW art and design students in a collaboration with international designer Bruce Mau on a multi-screen animation for his Design For All the Senses solo performance in Sydney in 2022.
I'm dedicated to staying at the forefront of industry trends and education skills.
My Grants
- 2005- $55,000 Screen Australia Production Grant for short animation 'Rope'
- May 2023 - $2200- Education Focussed (EF) Grant application for ‘Category: Promotion Coaching
- December 2022 - $5000- Education Focussed (EF) Grant application for ‘Category: Conference attendance' Siggraph Asia Sth Korea
- June 2021 - $918 - Education Focussed (EF) Grant application for ‘Category: Conference attendance 'HERDSA Virtual Conference
- December 2019 - $1887 - Education Focussed (EF) Grant application for ‘Category: Conference attendance' Siggraph Asia Brisbane
My Qualifications
- Master of Film and Television Digital Media - Australian Film Television and Radio School
- Graduate Diploma of Film and Television Interactive Media - Victorian College of the Arts Film School
- Bachelors of Visual Arts Honours - Sydney College of the Arts
- Fine Art Diploma East Sydney Technical College (Now known as the National Art School)
My Awards
- Venice International Film Festival- In competition nomination 2002 for 'Pending'
- Australian Effects & Animation Festival (AEAF) Sydney 2002 - 1st Prize (joint), Student category for 'Pending'.
- Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, USA 2002- 2nd Prize, Student Animation category for 'Pending'.
- International Women Directors Film Festival, Créteil, France 2003 - 1ST Prize for 'Pending', “Films de Femmes”.
- St Kilda Film Festival - 1st Prize Best Achievement in Special Effects 2003 for 'Pending'
-
3rd Intenational Festival of Cinema Santiago Chile 2003 1st prize for Experimental Animation for 'Pending'
My Research Activities
- 2023 Current: 'Making Good Media' - In partnership with the UNSW Innovation Lab and Massive Action Sydney.
- July 2023: Exhibiting artist at the Creativity and Cognition Conference’s (an annual interdisciplinary conference that focuses on exploring the intersection of creativity and technology) innovative online virtual exhibition titled Organic Creative Spaces.
- April 2023: Short conference paper ‘Animated space: A creative and collaborative animation; designing a space for imaginative possibilities'. The piece proposes continuing development of the existing prototype, further exploring themes of creative spaces and connectivity for the ACM Creativity and Cognition Conference in 2024. https://doi.org/10.1145/3591196.3593362
- November 2022: NiTRO Creative Matters 45th Edition - ‘In her sites: The studio expanded’. Using the Design For All the Senses animation production as a case study for situated learning, in this work the two volunteer UNSW students, co-led by Melody Li and myself, explored procedural animation techniques that opened creative possibilities. This embodied a Practice-led 'reflection-in-action' approach to making in art and design. This dynamic production process enabled creative growth for the students despite tight deadlines. The experience highlights the success of shifting knowledge paradigms in a male-dominated field to a more inclusive framework.https://creativematters.edu.au/2022-11-25-in-her-sites-the-studio-expanded/
- August 2021: NiTRO Creative Matter 37th Edition - ‘Collaborator and Accomplice: Co-operative pedagogies for transformational learning’. In this publication I described how the COVID-19 lockdowns catalysed my reflection on approaches to remote teaching. Rather than focusing solely on digital platforms, I aimed to become an ‘accomplice’ in active student learning. My goal was to support students in understanding their creative processes through an empathic, student-centred approach informed by relational pedagogy. I fostered a collaborative teacher-student dynamic as a "secret society" for critical thinking and inclusivity. This shift enabled resilience despite the loss of hands-on studio practices. By focusing on the teacher-student relationship, creative growth could continue to flourish, even remotely. https://creativematters.edu.au/2021-8-27-collaborator-and-accomplice-co-operative-pedagogies-for-transformational-learning/
My Engagement
2023 Current: 'Making Good Media' - In partnership with the UNSW Innovation Lab, Massive Action Sydney and GDH Digital.
2023: Local Committee Member for the SIGGRAPH Asia 2023 conference in Sydney as mentor and guide for four students from UNSW School of Art and Design in Term 2. As their mentor, I worked closely with the students to create engaging graphic, video, and animation assets to enhance the conference's web and digital presence that will reach a conference audience of thousands.
2022: Co-lead of the Visual Design and Animation team for the Design for All the Senses (DFAS) performance (Sept 2022) in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture. This collaboration with renowned designer Bruce Mau directly incorporated my teaching practice through the provision of in-situ industry placements two talented UNSW students. Together, we worked on the design of captivating multi-screen animations to enhance Bruce Mau’s immersive performance.
2021: Invited panelist; ‘Women in CG’ (online) Siggraph Asia Tokyo 2021. https://sa2021.siggraph.org/en/attend/birds-of-a-feather/15/session_slot/1016
2021: Invited judge: Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards. https://atomawards.org/2021-judge/anna-tow/
Location
Follow
ORCID as entered in ROS
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8239-7222