Thecla Schiphorst

Most Recent Affiliation / Department / Job Title:

• Simon Fraser University (SFU), Choreographer and Performance Artist

ISEA Bio(s) Available:

• ISEA2015

  Dr. Thecla Schiphorst is Associate Director and Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Her background in dance and computing form the basis for her research in embodied interaction, focusing on movement knowledge representation, tangible and wearable technologies, media and digital art, and the aesthetics of interaction. Her research goal is to expand the practical application of embodied theory within Human Computer Interaction. She is a member of the original design team that developed Life Forms, the computer compositional tool for choreography, and collaborated with Merce Cunningham from 1990 to 2005 supporting his creation of new dance with the computer. Thecla has an Interdisciplinary MA under special arrangements in Computing Science and Dance from Simon Fraser University (1993), and a Ph.D. (2008) from the School of Computing at the University of Plymouth.Thecla Schiphorst is the recipient of the 1998 PetroCanada Award in New Media, a biennial award presented to a Canadian Artist for their contribution to innovation in art & technology in Canada. Her media art installations have been exhibited internationally in Europe, Canada, the United States and Asia in many venues including Ars Electronica, the Dutch Electronic Arts Festival (DEAF), Future Physical, Siggraph, the Wexner Centre for the Arts, the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, and the London ICA. Thecla Schiphorst leads the whisper[s] research group an acronym for: wearable, handheld, intimate, sensory, personal, expressive, responsive systems, and is the Director of MovingStories: Digital Tools for Movement, Meaning and Interaction, a SSHRC funded International Institutional Research Partnership.

  Wynnie Wing Yi Chung, Emily Ip, Sunmin Lee & Thecla Schiphorst, School of Interactive Arts  and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, B.C., Canada

  Thecla Schiphorst is Associate Director and Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Her background in dance and computing form the basis for her research in embodied interaction, focusing on movement knowledge representation, tangible and wearable technologies, media and digital art, and the aesthetics of interaction. Schiphorst is the recipient of the 1998 PetroCanada Award in New Media, a biennial award presented to a Canadian Artist for their contribution to innovation in art & technology in Canada. Her media art installations have been exhibited internationally in Europe, Canada, the United States and Asia in many venues including Ars Electronica, the Dutch Electronic Art Festival (DEAF), Future Physical, Siggraph, the Wexner Centre for the Arts, the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, and the London ICA.

  ISEA2013

  Thecla Schiphorst, Simon Fraser University, Canada

  ISEA2011

  Thecla Schiphorst(CA)

  ISEA1995

  Thecla Schiphorst is a choreographer, performer and integrated computer media artist, who has presented her work around the world. Five years ago, as a member of the Lifeforms software development team at Simon Fraser University, she began working with Merce Cunningham in his development of new dances using this technology. She has performed at ISEA ’92 and CyberArts International in California and recently, she has begun investigation of the potential for interactive multimedia technology in the presentation of recorded dance material.

Last Known Location:

• Surrey, British Columbia, Canada