American University of Sharjah

Faculty Member, Department of Design

Assistant Professor of Design

College of Architecture, Art and Design

About

Seth Thompson is a media artist and educator involved in documenting and interpreting art, design and culture through print and online presentations. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Design at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. In addition, he has written on the arts for such magazines as Afterimage, Art Calendar, Bidoun and Dialogue. Thompson's documentaries, Evolving Traditions: Artists Working in New Media and Outside the Box: New Cinematic Experiences have aired on such television stations as PBS 45 & 49, Northeast, Ohio; KDOL Channel 18, Oakland, California; DUTV, Philadelphia, PA; and Triangle Television, Auckland, New Zealand.

Thompson began his career at Harvestworks Digital Media Arts in New York City where he was the Business Manager and Education Director. In addition to teaching at The University of Akron and Cuyahoga Community College, he was a Contractual Artist/Lecturer with The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Associate Educator at the Akron Art Museum. Thompson holds a BFA in Studio Arts from the University of Colorado, an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University and an MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College.

Research Agenda

Digital media has the ability to transform and direct the way one interacts, understands and interprets visual culture and heritage. Documenting and interpreting art, design and culture, Seth Thompson is interested in the interpretation and representation of visual culture and heritage using imaging and interactive media design in order to make art and design more accessible. Examining notions of identity, place and globalization within the context of tangible and intangible cultural heritage representation, museum use of media especially web-based technologies plays an integral role in this theoretical and practice-based investigation.

Associations

International Art Critics Association
American Association of Museums
International Council of Museums
College Art Association

Contact Information