The Engage Media Lab is doing a new initiative in which we interview people involved with the lab about their current and past projects, and about the current media landscapes. Here are profiles of some of the people who have worked with us at EML.
Nitin Sawhney
I have been working on participatory media projects with youth and marginalized communities, while teaching workshops and courses for critical engaged learning in the US and abroad. I’m originally from New Delhi, India and grew-up in the Middle East. I completed my Ph.D. at the MIT Media Lab and currently serve as Assistant Professor of Media Studies at The New School. Since 2006 I have conducted research and digital storytelling initiatives (Voices Beyond Walls) with Palestinian youth in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
At the MIT Center for Civic Media I co-founded the Department of Play, a research collaborative, to design participatory mobile video, mapping and pedagogical tools to support creative expression and civic agency among marginalized youth. Since 2012, I helped established the Engage Media Lab at The New School, working with graduate students to design and conduct participatory media-based learning and assessment with youth in New York City and Jerusalem. I also organized and co-chaired the International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC 2013) at The New School in partnership with Sesame Workshop in June 23-27, 2013. I recently completed a documentary film, Flying Paper, about the participatory culture of kite making and flying among children in Gaza, with support from National Geographic. I am currently developing a documentary film, Zona Intervenida, focusing on conflict, memory and the body through site-specific performance interventions in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
Peter Lucas
People have been taking boats forever. I’m on the Star Ferry in this picture, destined to disappear like everything else of a certain age. It feels primal, almost primitive the way everyone just stares at the sea. Maybe it’s because I grew up a long day’s journey from the coast, but the ocean has always been a miracle to me. Many of my media projects hover around this edge where land meets the infinite. My new project Say Goodbye to the Star Ferry is an attempt to document those last traces of old Hong Kong. Not much is left, already a lost crisis concerning the rights to heritage and preservation. So I tried to savor each crossing of Victoria Harbor with its mix of loss and melancholy, nostalgia and change, beauty and transience. I try to keep these deeper sentiments present in my personal projects but they also spill over into my various courses on human rights and media.
Ella Colley
I was born and raised on Gadigal Land, part of the Eora Nation that most people now know as Sydney, Australia. I moved to New York for the Graduate Program in International Affairs at The New School. My studies focus on using media as a tool for education and activism. In 2015, I spent the summer working on a web documentary that supports community tourism on the island of Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My thesis uses this project as a case study to explore the use of interactive media for small social projects. I have worked in numerous program management roles, and in New York I visit, photograph and profile New York City public schools for insideschools.org. In life, I strike a balance between crazy adventures and quiet comforts. Everyday absurdities and good coffee make me a very happy lady.
John Sapida
Originally from the Philippines, I am currently a graduate student in The New School studying International Affairs with a concentration in Media and Culture. I am particularly interested in the role of media in human rights education. If I could only keep one sense, it would be sight. I’ve always been the visual type of person which is why I enjoy engaging in media projects in film, photography and social media. Recently, I have been blessed enough to participate in media projects in Brazil and Guatemala. If/when I have free time, I fill it by being on stage. For me, nothing beats the rush of a performance and the heat of the spotlight!
Colin DeMatteis
I am a graduate student in the Media Studies program with a focus on the intersection of media literacy, critical pedagogy, and social change. I have been working for the past year as a media educator with the participatory media project I Need To Be Heard!, a partnership with the Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn. My research interests include: feminist cultural analysis, the role of critical media literacy in social change, and the use of games to express, understand, and critique complex systems of power. When not studying or working, I enjoy cooking vegan meals, playing video games, and writing in my journal.
Kelly Baker
A first year student in the Graduate Program in International Affairs at the New School, I am an avid traveler with a passion for social justice. With a concentration in Media & Culture, I aim to refine my media production skills in order to effectively communicate the impact of nonprofits and NGOs on pressing social issues. I’m originally from Connecticut, but I left my heart in (the East Bay of) San Francisco. Based in Oakland, I worked with nonprofits in community development and volunteered with a community radio station and a hyperlocal news website. I received my bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Communications Studies, and Spanish from McGill University, where I played hockey and learned to love poutine.
Laura Nitz
I am currently a graduate student in international affairs with a focus on media, culture and documentary film.
Nelesi Rodriguez
I am a Venezuelan college professor, researcher, and creative media producer. My research interests include transmedia, contemporary identities and aesthetic discourses. Back in Venezuela, I collaborated in activists groups such as Bicimamis –a cycling collective with gender focus that empowers women through the usage of bicycle as means of transportation–, and Gritos Silentes –an activist group that tried to create awareness about the violence in Venezuela through performance. Currently, I am conducting my Masters degree in Media Studies at The New School. By being part of the Engage Media Lab, I hope to help the communities by sharing my knowledge and media know-how, but also to learn from them, their points of view and our shared experiences.
Lívia Sá
I’m currently attending the last year of the Media Studies Masters program at The New School while also working on multiple projects that focus on social, political and human rights topics. I’m originally from São Paulo, Brazil, but before moving to Brooklyn I spent 7 years of my life in San Francisco where I not only practiced a lot of yoga and enjoyed nature, but also had the opportunity to study Cinema Production while working with different photographers and independent filmmakers. I’m currently working as a freelancer on different projects and I’m focusing my studies on experimental projects and documentaries. Since dance is one of my biggest passions and I didn’t become a dancer, I also love to document performances and collaborate with those who use the body as a medium. In addition, I’m currently developing some projects that alter the viewers’ perception while also stimulating different senses.
