Biography
Aly Ogasian is an Assistant Professor of Art + Design at 61传媒. Prior to joining 61传媒, Aly was an Assistant Professor at Rhode Island School of Design, and a critic at Smith College.
In her work, Aly attempts to re-orient herself in a contemporary world dominated by data and technology, where the romantic and adventurous spirit of discovery has been lost or forgotten. In these zones, science and technology give rise to the nebulous, the enigmatic, the mysterious -- the primary goal is to 鈥渕ake sense鈥 rather than to objectively know.
aRather than grapple with the 鈥減olarity鈥 between the arts and sciences, her work argues that both fields operate in a territory of wonder that exists at the border between sensation and thought. Within this context, wonder is connected to an instance of 鈥渘ew knowing鈥, a re-encountering of familiar terrain. Her recent work pairs artistic fieldwork with public programs that engage communities around issues of climate change, histories of land use, and environmental stewardship.
She has been awarded residencies at Montalvo Arts Center, Vermont Studio Center, School of Visual Arts, The Arctic Circle, and the National Center of Contemporary for Art: Russia, amongst others. In 2019 Ogasian was an artist in residence at Schmidt Ocean Institute aboard the Research Vessel Falkor departing from Hawaii. In 2018, Ogasian and her collaborator, Shona Kitchen were awarded the first ever artist residency at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Cape Canaveral, Florida, supported by a NASA Space Grant.
She has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as The Russian State Arctic & Antarctic Museum; The Atlantic Center of the Arts; Kennedy Space Center/Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge; The Salamanca Arts Center Tasmania; Watkins College of Art, Design & Film and ISEA, amongst others. Aly has also co-curated a group exhibition at apexart, NYC, and has collaboratively produced artist books.
Academic History
- MFA, Digital + Media, Rhode Island School of Design
- BFAH, Sculpture, Queen's University, Canada
Academic Focus
Studio art, art and technology, media studies, artistic research, interdisciplinary practices.
Interests
Science + technology, place/landscape, perception, nature, climate change, history of film + photography, navigation + mapping, failure, humor + absurdity, collaboration