29
January
2026
Event
Media Arts Day 2026
10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Scholars Event Theater, first floor of Price Gilbert
The Georgia Tech Library and Interdisciplinary Media Arts Center (IMA) are proud to bring Media Arts Day 2026 to campus Thursday, Jan. 29, featuring events throughout the day in the Scholars Event Theater on Price Gilbert's First Floor.
“Media Arts Day is the one day every year when people from across campus come together in the Library to celebrate the power of art and design to expand public consciousness around science and technology,” said Yanni Loukissas, director of IMA.
Media Arts Day 2026 is co-sponsored by the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
Schedule
10 a.m. | Creative Technology in a Physical World
Digital technology radically expanded the possible locations for art and production. How can we understand that expansion in the material world, and how can we keep our work in place? Join our panel of Georgia Tech faculty as they discuss how their work interacts with place and time.
About the panel
Dr. Heidi Biggs is an Assistant Professor at the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Institute of Technology. They research Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and design focused on environmental sustainability in computing. Their approach to sustainability in computing seeks to expand ecological thinking in HCI through local, situated, and critical lenses. They were a pre-doctoral fellow in the Center for Humanities and Informatics and Penn State University and a Hanauer Fellow in Interdisciplinary Humanities at the University of Washington. They hold a PhD in Informatics from Penn State University and a MDes in Interaction Design from the University of Washington. Biggs’ work is featured in the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction conference proceedings such as the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing, and Designing Interactive Systems Conference, the HCI Journal, as well as arts-based venues such as Textile Intersections in London, and contemporary performance venue On the Boards, in Seattle.
Dr. Alexandria Smith is a multimedia artist, audio engineer, scholar, trumpeter, and educator who enjoys working at the intersection of all these disciplines. Her research interests focus on integrating methods of making and scholarship into music technology. To explore how electronic music is embodied through practice, she has been experimenting with ways to integrate biofeedback training and sensor observation into her music and designing interactive media applications and environments for performers. Her research in this interdisciplinary area has been published in Arcana Musicians on Music X and presented at the Audio Engineering Society, MoxSonic, New Music on the Bayou, and more. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and holds an M.M. and B.M. from Mannes the New School for Music.
Dr. Abigale Stangl is a design researcher specializing in the development of systems that promote inclusive design practices and enhance the accessibility of products and information. With expertise in human-centered design, HCI, accessibility, and sensory AI, her interdisciplinary research encompasses universal design principles and prioritizes disability-first innovation. Stangl's current research goals focus on expanding tactile media availability through in-depth investigations of tactile design practices, interaction techniques, and the optimization of multi-modal and multi-sensory systems. She actively collaborates with individuals with disabilities, ensuring their perspectives and needs drive innovation. Stangl also cultivates students' abilities as allies and co-designers, fostering an inclusive design community that embraces diverse perspectives.
11:15 a.m. | Spatial Scholarship in Practice
Have you considered the integration of emerging media technologies into your classes or research?
Join Multimedia and Emerging Technologies Librarian Alison Valk as she demonstrates some of the work the Library’s Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) research section has produced over the last few years. This pop-up showcase will demonstrate how the team is leveraging virtual reality with archival collections. By 3-D scanning some of the Library’s artifacts and developing a virtual immersive exhibit space, this project is inspiring new ways of engaging with collections and resources.
Learn more about the project here.
12:30 p.m. | Film viewing: Sack Race With Knives
In this short film, join sculpture artist Kevin Titzer on a race against time. Tasked with creating a monumental art installation at the University of Southern Indiana’s Pace McCutchan Gallery, Titzer faces a daunting challenge with only two weeks on the clock. Returning to his hometown of Evansville, Ind., Titzer's journey is captured by filmmaker Jordan Barclay. Witness the entire process as Titzer scours the local area for materials, then meticulously assembles the art installation, all while the countdown to completion ticks away.
In 2020, Titzer was a guest on Lost in the Stacks, the Research Library Rock n’ Roll radio show.
Learn more about Kevin Titzer’s work and the film.
1:15 p.m. | Lost in the Stacks interview: Shakespeare Through The Screen
Attend the live recording of an interview with Writing and Communication Professor Kelly Williams, Emerging Technologies Librarian Alison Valk, and Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U) research scientist Meryem Yilmaz Soylu about using virtual reality technologies in the classroom. In Professor Williams’ composition class, students used multiple modes and media to experience Hamlet and assess how best to teach the famous “To be or not to be” monologue.
About the panel
Dr. Kelly Williams teaches English 1102 (Composition II) through the thematic lens of the "STEM Renaissance." She has seven years of experience teaching writing-intensive courses and her pedagogy draws on digital media to engage STEM learners in multi-modal communication. A central question of her composition II course is “How does knowing the history of our academic disciplines make us better researchers and communicators today?” To explore answers to this question, students utilize a diverse range of learning technologies to help make 400-year-old artifacts relevant to 21st century writers. For example, Williams recently added a new slate of learning technologies to her courses -- including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reailty video games -- and is conducting research on "VR in the composition classroom" in partnership with C21U.
Alison Valk is the Emerging Technologies Librarian for the Georgia Tech Library, a position held since 2010. She studied art at the University of Georgia and holds a BBA in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University and a Master's in Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. Prior to her current roles she served as instructional coordinator where she oversaw the development of the Library’s educational curriculum and led specialized programs including a federal IMLS (Institute for Museum and Library Services) grant funded initiative that integrates arts-based projects and library resources into the curriculum. She works closely with the campus XR (Extended Reality) working group on advancing the use of emerging technology into teaching and learning at the Institute. She currently leads research initiatives focused on the use of virtual reality and emerging technologies in libraries. Her book “Making Virtual Reality a Reality” discussing this work was published in 2023.
In her role at C21U, Meryem Yılmaz Soylu explores how emerging technologies such as XR, AI, and learning analytics can transform teaching, learning, and assessment. With a background in educational psychology and instructional technology, her work focuses on facilitating the design of innovative, data-informed learning environments that promote self-regulation, meta-cognition, engagement, and 21st Century durable skills. Yılmaz Soylu leads and collaborates on interdisciplinary research initiatives, including the use of VR for multimodal communication, an AI-powered oral assessment tool (Socratic Mind), the development of an AI-powered tool (LORI) to streamline admissions, and digital twins of learner behavior. She is a co-instructor of the VIP Data Driven Education team and a member of Georgia Tech’s XR Working Group. She also serves on campus committees focused on educational innovation and technology-enhanced learning.
2:30 p.m. | Fold Together: Large-Scale Origami Workshop
Explore the sculptural possibilities of paper in this hands-on workshop dedicated to creating large-scale origami structures. Participants will learn techniques for folding and assembling oversized forms, transforming simple sheets into three-dimensional works of art.
This session emphasizes origami as a creative and meditative practice, highlighting the precision and rhythm of folding at an architectural scale. By the end, the group will have constructed an origami installation — an exploration of scale, structure, and the beauty of paper as a material.