nancy lee
XR creator, interdisciplinary media artist, speaker, filmmaker, curator

CV

Curriculum Vitae  

(last updated May 15, 2018)

Research Activities

VR 360 Dance Film -“Tidal Traces” (2016 - 2018)

  • 2016-17 The DanceLab Residency with Emmalena Fredriksson, The Dance Centre, Vancouver, BC
  • Exploring what VR can offer to dance presentation by placing the audience in the centre of the performance in an immersive environment. 
  • Process includes developing new ways of choreographing, directing, and filming for a 360 spatial environment through public dialogue, screenings, 360 choreography workshops and open studio sessions.
  • “Tidal Traces” produced by the National Film Board of Canada Interactive studio

MODALmix (2014 - Present)

  • New media art collective founded by Nancy Lee and Kiran Bhumber based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  • Creates participatory new media art and performances integrating sensor technology with dance, music, video and installations.
  • Objective is to broaden interdisciplinary research within the context of contemporary performance practice and new forms of electronic art. 
  • Emphasis placed on the interaction between people and installation interfaces to generate and manipulate audio-visual content.

Asian-Canadian communities’ oral history documentation (2010 - 2016)

  • Documentation of Asian-Canadian narratives through film
  • Research topics: Asian sexuality in a Western context, intergenerational relationships, multicultural households, and media representation.

Education

2015 Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

  • Introduction to Modern Dance

2014 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

  • Bachelor of Science in Global Resource Systems
  • Specializations in International Development and Asia-Pacific region.

2014 British Columbia Institute of Technology, Vancouver, BC. 

  • Marketing and Communication courses

2010 Exchange Program, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.

  • Concentration in gender and media anthropology

Awards + Accolades

  • 2018 BC Business Most Influential Women in STEM
  • 2018 YWCA Women of Distinction in Art, Culture and Design nominee
  • 2018 BC Music Fund Industry Initiatives Grant for “CURRENT: Feminist Electronic Art Symposium”
  • 2018 BC Music Fund Industry Initiatives Grant for “Chapel Sound Workshop Series”
  • 2018 BC Music Fund Industry Initiatives Grant for “Rise & Shine Music Seminar”
  • 2017 City of Vancouver Community Arts Grant for “CURRENT: Feminist Electronic Art Symposium”
  • 2017 Canada Council of the Arts International Travel Grant
  • 2017 LA Film Review, Independent Film Award, bronze for “Faux Solo”
  • 2017 Short.Sweet.Film Fest. (Ohio) Best Experimental Film for “Faux Solo” 
  • 2016 Canada Council of the Arts International Travel Grant
  • 2016 Festival of Recorded Movement Youth Commissioning Fund Award for “Faux Solo”
  • 2015 BC Arts Council Project Assistance Grant for “Pendula”
  • 2014 UBC Global Health and Innovation Conference Travel Award
  • 2013 First place winner of United Ways’ Care to Change PSA video competition
  • 2013 Bass Coast music video competition finalist
  • 2012 Asia Pacific Foundation National Conversation on Asia Video Award
  • 2012 First place winner of UBC Arts Instructional Support and Information Technology videography competition
  • 2011 UBC International Service Learning Award
  • 2009 UBC Go Global Award 
  • 2006 President’s Entrance Scholarship

Presentations

2018

  • “Creative City Strategy Launch”, City of Vancouver, Roundhouse Exhibition Hall, Vancouver BC

2017

  • “Speaker Panel: Cultural Sustainability In Our Rapidly Changing City”, Vancouver Mural Festival, Heritage Hall, Vancouver, BC
  • “Growing in the scene - long term optimism and engaging well”, Groundwerk Keynote, Vancouver, BC
  • “Creative Collaboration” Bass Coast Festival, Merrit, BC
  • “Future of new media and technology in arts and culture”, Eyemyth Festival, antiSocial, Mumbai, India
  • “VR Dance Film”, Creative Collaboration: a panel discussion and sharing of works in progress moderated by Peter Dickinson, The Dance Centre, Vancouver, BC
  • “VR Dance Film: Research & Process”, DanceLab Residency, The Dance Centre, Vancouver, BC

2016

  • “Speaker Panel: The Social Good of Partying”, Vancouver Mural Festival, moderated by Shad, The Fox Cabaret, Vancouver, BC
  • “Pendula: An Interactive Installation and Performance Instrument”, New Interfaces for Musical Expressions, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

2015

  • “Pendula”, Third Annual Eelctroacoustic Music Festival Experts Panel, The Western Front, Vancouver, BC
  • “Pendula”, 21st International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA 2015), Simon 
  • Fraser University, Vancouver, BC

2011

  • “Experimenting with Space at The AIDS Support Organisation’s Childcare Centre”, UBC Community Service Learning Program and UBC International Service Learning Program presents “From There to Here: Stories of Growth in Community”, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.

Publications

  • Bhumber, Kiran, Lee, Nancy, and Topp, Brian. (2016) “Pendula: An Interactive Installation and Performance Instrument”, New Interfaces for Musical Expressions Paper Proceedings 2016, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
  • Lee, Nancy. “Swings Trigger Childhood Memories -- And a Unique Vancouver Project”, Huffington Post Canada, June 19th, 2015.

Residencies + Fellowships

  • June 2017: Brief Encounters Gastown, Vancouver, BC
  • September 2016-2017: The DanceLab Interdisciplinary Residency, The Dance Centre, Vancouver, BC
  • August 2016: 21st Century Renaissance Artist Residency, Ismaili Centre, Burnaby, BC
  • February 2015-April 2015: Unite For Sight Global Impact Fellowship, Photographer & Filmmaker for Pranav Eye Care Hospital in Chennai, India.

Films

Virtual Reality: Director

  • “Tidal Traces”(2017), National Film Board of Canada, Vancouver, BC

Music Video:  Writer / Producer / Director 

  • “Swirl” by I M U R (2017), I M U R music, Vancouver, BC
  • “Untangling” by Eli Muro (2017), Jellyfish Recordings, Vancouver, BC
  • “Dreamers” by WILLA (2016), Nettwerk Music Group, Vancouver, BC
  • “The Flood” by Joshua Hyslop (2015), Nettwerk Music Group, Vancouver, BC
  • “Let It Go” by Joshua Hyslop (2015, Nettwerk Music Group, Vancouver, BC
  • “Young Again” by Young Liars (2015), Nettwerk Music Group, Vancouver, BC
  • “Don’t You Worry” by Kline & Oshea Adams, remixed by Self Evident (2014), Low Indigo, Vancouver, BC
  • “Retrogrades” by #XI (2014), Classics Agency, Vancouver, BC
  • “Delicate” by Sundays (2013), Classics Agency, Vancouver, BC
  • “World We Own” by Sundays (2013), Classics Agency, Vancouver, BC
  • “Heartless” by Kline (2013), Low Indigo, Vancouver, BC
  • “Love Thought” by Friends with the Help (2012), Stoop Fam Records, Vancouver, BC

Short Films:  Writer / Producer / Director

  • “Faux Solo” (2016) short dance film, Festival of Recorded Movement, Vancouver, BC
  • “Blind Beginnings” (2015), documentary, Classics Agency, Vancouver, BC
  • “Beautiful Eyes” (2015), documentary, Pranav Foundation and Unite For Sight, New Haven, CT.
  • “Kuppan" (2015), documentary, Pranav Foundation and Unite For Sight, New Haven, CT.
  • “Sexy Asian Men? Examining the Desexualization of Asian Men in the Media” (2013), documentary, UBC, Vancouver, BC.
  • “Growing Bananas in Vancouver” (2010), 3-part documentary in collaboration with Vania Chan (co-director), with supervision from Dr. Henry Yu (University of British Columbia)

Selected Screenings

Tidal Traces (2017)

  • MUTEK_Img 2018, Phi Centre, Montreal,  QC, April 11-13, 2018.
  • SXSW, Canada. Big on VR presented by Telefilm Canada & Phi Centre, March 11-13, 2018.
  • Miami Film Festival, Virtual Escape, Miami, FL, March10-18, 2018.
  • Vancouver International Women in Film Festival,  Vancouver, BC, March 7-11, 2018.
  • European Film Market, Big on VR presented by Telefilm Canada & Phi Centre,  Berlin, Germany, Feb 17-19, 2018.
  • Le festival Ciné-corps, Escape VR, Paris, France, Jan 30-Feb 4, 2018.
  • MUTEK, VR Salon, Tokyo, Japan, Nov 15-17, 2017.

I M U R - “Swirl” (2017)

  • Leeds Queer Film Festival, March 24, 2018.
  • Vancouver Short Film Festival, Vancouver, BC, Jan 21, 2018.

Faux Solo (2016)

  • Opine Dance Film Festival, Atlanta, March 11th, 2017. 
  • Short.Sweet.Film Fest., Ohio, March 3-5th, 2017.
  • Set.Me. Free (Flat Association), Venice, Italy, Feb-May 2017 monthly screenings.
  • Festival de Cortometrajes "Jose Francisco Rosado" PACAS, Spain, January 7th, 2017.
  • Szczecin European Film Festival, Poland, October 14-25th, 2016.
  • Directed by Women - Short and Fun in NYC, NYC, Sept 1st-30th, 2016.
  • Festival of Recorded Movement, Vancouver, BC, June 17-19th, 2016.

Where the Year Begins in Taiwan (2015)

  • Screening curated by Paul Wong: Year of the Monkey, Vancouver Art and Leisure Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Recent Interdisciplinary Commissions

Pendula Exhibit (2014-present)

  • Hardware and Software: Arduino, Max/MSP and Resolume Arena
  • Swing set design, installation and videos by Nancy Lee; electroacoustics and software design by Kiran Bhumber
  • Eyemyth New Media Festival, July 2, 2018, Homegrown India, antiSocial, Mumbai, India
  • New Forms Festival ‘16, October 7-8, 2017, commissioned by New Forms Media Society
  • 2015 Vancouver TD International Jazz Festival, commissioned by The Coast Jazz Society with support from the BC Arts Council and VIVO Media Arts.
  • 2015 Vancouver Mini Maker Faire, PNE Forum, June 6-7 2015, Vancouver, BC Canada. 
  • LIGHT EXPO ’14, Vancouver Art and Leisure Centre, November 21st, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Disperson (2016)

  • By Nancy Lee (director, visuals), Laine Butler (visuals, installation), Kiran Bhumber (music), Ralph Escamillan (choreography), Sophia Wolfe (dance), and Alex Tam (dance).
  • Live audio-visual performance with dance.
  • Performance: The Courtyard Commission, October 22, 2016, commissioned by Ismaili Centre, Burnaby, BC.

Houle and Brown duo (2015) – The Gold Saucer, Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • Original visual content created using CoGe VJ and recorded video content. 
  • Commissioned by Oliver Brown (University of New South Wales) and François Houle (University of British Columbia).

Interdisciplinary performance for the Mania Mag Launch (2015) 

  • Textile and live video projection installation
  • In collaboration with Ralph Escamillian (dance), Kevin Frazer (dance), and Cydney Eva (costume designer)
  • Exhibition: El Kartel, Vancouver, BC

Pendula Performance (2015)

  • By Nancy Lee (swings), Kiran Bhumber (clarinet), Clara Shandler (cello) and Neelamjit Dhillion (bansuri, tabla)
  • TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC, June 21-22nd 2015.

Selected Exhibition + Live Performances

Hollow Vertices (2015)

  • By Nancy Lee (visuals, dance), Kiran Bhumber (clarinet, code) and Dr. Norah Lorway (code)
  • Live audio-visual performance with dance and live coding
  • CURRENT: A Pacific Northwest Feminist Electronic Art Symposium, July 29, 2017, Vancouver Art and Leisure, Vancouver, BC.
  • Eyemyth New Media Festival, July 2, 2018, Homegrown India, antiSocial, Mumbai, India
  • Modalmix:  an A/V evening, The Revolver, Taipei, Taiwan, July 26th, 2016.
  • EEVS Project 視聽計畫, Freedom Man Apartment Studio, Taichung, Taiwan, July 24th, 2016.
  • International Conference on Live Coding, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, October 16th, 2016.
  • New Interfaces for Musical Expressions, New Globe Theatre, Brisbane, Australia, July 13th, 2016
  • BENT: A Showcase of Circuit Bending & Glitch Series, VIVO Media Arts Centre, Vancouver, BC, November 7th, 2015.

Downtown Ambassadors

  • Live audio-visual performance by Nancy Lee (visuals), Kent Stephany (sampler), and Allan Rodger (Moog, bass guitar, keyboard)
  • SubShop, Fox Cabaret, Vancouver, BC, May 7 2014.

Foreign Home 

  • By Nancy Lee (visuals, vocals) and Sean Oh (DJ)
  • The Not Sent Letter Project, Western Front, Vancouver, BC, May 4 2013.

“pan opticon” (2015)

  • Analogue video installation on 9 CRT TVs
  • Exhibition: 19th Annual Eastside Culture Crawl, The Studio at Creative Coworkers, Vancouver, BC, Canada, November 19th-22nd, 2015

Scouts Honor presented by the Basement 6 Collective (2014)

  • Video projections and interactive textile installations
  • In collaboration with Katy Roseland (textile installation)
  • Exhibition: Y/Ys, Shanghai, China

“Motion in a motionless space” (2014)

  • Video projection installation and 8 swing sets
  • Exhibition: LIFTED, The Loft, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

“Concrete Dreams” (2013)

  • Short film, video projection installation 
  • Screened at The Waldorf Hotel, Vancouver, BC, Canada. 

“Bushes & Zombies” (2013)

  • Short film, video projection installation
  • Screened at The Walforf Hotel, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Selected Curatorial + Productions

2018

  • Chapel Sound Workshop Series (producer) - 5 low-cost workshops for Ableton music production, choreography, artist entrepreneurship and VJing
  • Rise and Shine Music Seminar (director/co-producer) - rap/R&B/dance music seminar with all-ages and free workshops, panels, presentations and performances

2017

  • Vancouver Mural Festival presents Artist Prom (organizer)
  • New Forms Festival Saturday Symposium (co-producer) - 1 keynote, 3 workshops, and 2 panels on the electronic music industry
  • Chapel Sound 5 Year Anniversary (producer) 
  • Current: A Pacific Northwest Feminist Electronic Art Symposium (co-producer)
  • Chapel Sound Long Weekends 2017 (co-producer)

2016

  • Chapel Sound 4 Year Anniversary (producer)
  • Vancouver Mural Festival presents Chapel Sound (organizer)
  • Chapel Sound Festival (producer/director) - 3 days of panels, artist talks, workshops, and performances featuring all local talent and 50/50 women/men line-up.

2015

  • Women in Video/Film Production Meet-Up (organizer/host)
  • Chapel Sound 3 Year Anniversary (producer/curator)

Teaching

  • Video Production Instructor for Syrian Refugee Youth, Step Up Program, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., Vancouver, BC,   January - March 2017
  • Computer Literacy workshops for TASO staff, The AIDS Support Organization, Soroti, Uganda, July 2011.

board + jury

  • 2015-2016: Youth Commissioning Fund Jury, Festival of Recorded Movement, Vancouver, BC
  • 2015-2017:  Vice-President, Vancouver Art and Leisure Society, Vancouver, BC
  • 2015-present: Director, Chapel Sound Art Foundation, Vancouver, BC