Staff Profile

Introduction

Sneha currently teaches as an Associate Lecturer in Fine Art, School of Arts and Cultures and in Architecture Planning and Landscape.

Specialising in media art & technology.

Background

Sneha Solanki works with web, distributed and networked technology from creating small intimate isolated networks through to wide area connections and communication as temporal, time based and installations works. Her interests include cross art form, distributed art works, information, sound, simulations and effects of technology on social systems, creativity and in the sciences.

Selected exhibitions / Events
Houses of Benefit / Kate Rich & Sneha Solanki.
Wsfii- World Summit for Free Information Structures. Limehouse Townhall, London. October 2005.

Aural State - performance / Duncan Speakman & Sneha Solanki. Commissioned by Navigate Live Art Festival, Motorship Stubnitz, Newcastle Quayside. 2005.

The Lovers - Networked installation
Brown University Watson Institute, Providence USA. 2004.
Post & Tele Museum, Copenhagen Denmark. 2004.

CPU - Performance / D.Smith & S.Solanki. Machinista Festival, Glasgow. May 2004.

automating romantic erroneous* - installation /
Loveletter virus screenbased emulation. Arts Council England North East. February - April 2004.

timebomb - Installation / Group show 'Laptop Lovers'.
A three machine networked virus piece. ICA Digital Studio. 2003 - 2004.

In no particular order -Installation and web based piece / connecting principle live-art event. Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne UK. 2002. www.ncl.ac.uk/connectingprinciple

Flat of Culture - Performance & curated event / Kate Rich & Sneha Solanki. A live continuous 49hr webcast from the 13th floor of a towerblock flat in Newcastle upon Tyne UK. 2001.

Live-stock.ram/fm - 72 hr webcast and simultaneous fm radio transmission- Networked body sound booth broadcast by stethoscope. 2000. Arc, Stockton-on-Tees UK.

The Polytechnic
Sneha is a founding member of 'The Polytechnic' group developing and producing projects and workshops based around the ideologies of the F(L)OSS {Free (Libre) Open Source software} movement . Polytechnic works with artists engaged in working and producing projects & artworks with non-proprietary tools. These have included:
2005 Grow your own media lab / AV Festival. Newcastle upon Tyne.
2005 Openmute FLOSS culture’ workshop. Newcastle upon Tyne.
2005 Supercollider, sound synthesis environment, Sage Gateshead.
2004 Pure data, a patchable environment for artists and musicians. Newcastle upon Tyne.

As a member of Polytechnic Sneha’s research includes highlighting the nature of ‘Proprietary’ and ‘Open Source’ digital media tools used by artists in the production and process of creating artworks. The research is primarily based around the comparison between the creative restrictions and freedoms offered in both ‘Proprietary’ and ‘Open Source’ software.

Sneha is currently (from March 2006) involved in the development of the F(L)OSS Poytechnic media lab in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Qualifications

2006 - 2007. MSc Electronic Imaging. Duncan Jordanstone College of Art & Design.
1993 -1996. BA (Hons) Fine Art University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne.
1991 - 1992. Foundation Studies in Art & Design. Loughborough College of Art.

Other Informal and formal training & education:
2006 SymbioticA Tissue Engineering Art Workshop. Teeside University, UK.
2004 Pure Data. Montevideo Media Art Institute, Amsterdam Netherlands.
2002 Java Script NCFE. North Tyneside College, NorthTyneside. Sepember.
2002 Linux Open Source NCFE. North Tyneside College, NorthTyneside.
2001 Streaming Media. Lovebytes festival, Site Gallery, Sheffield UK.

Previous Positions

April - July 2004 Visiting lecturer in Fine Art, University of Sunderland.
1996 - 1997 Postgraduate Fellow, Fine Art. University of Northumbria at Newcastle upon Tyne.

Honours and Awards

2005 The Arts Foundation Bursary shortlist.
2003 Encore 10X10. Arts Council North East.
2001 Capital of Culture 2008. Arts Council North East.

Languages

English
Gujarati

Research Interests

New Media Arts, Cross Art Form and OpenSource ideology.

Esteem Indicators

2005 Shortlisted for the Arts Foundation award in Digital Media. London.
2004 Artists talk at ICA, London.
2004 Invited speaker at London Metropolitan University.
2003 New Media Strategy Steering group panel member. Arts Council North East.
2002 Invited speaker at University of Northumbria at Newcastle.

Undergraduate Teaching

2007 - 2008. Supervisor to Year 2 and Year 3 students. Teach New Media, Art & Technology to all undergraduate students.

Year 2 ‘Strand’ module leader in Media, Art & Technology.
Year 4 ‘Special options Art History’ co-module leader. 2005 -2007.

Postgraduate Teaching

Teach New Media, Art & Technology to postgraduate students usually on a one to one basis.