Directory Profile

Australian new media artist Kathy Smith explores consciousness and dreams as it pertains to the landscape through emotions of hope, fear, and desire. Her work combines oil painting, drawing, 2D/3D animation, AR, VR, holography, and installation.

Kathy's works have been screened at SIGGRAPH N-Space Art Gallery, Sundance Film Festival, New York Digital Salon, Hiroshima, Anima Mundi, GLAS and Ottawa International Animation Festivals. She has exhibited at group and solo exhibitions such as Institute of Contemporary Art, London, Conservatorio di Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence, Italy, the Australian National Gallery, Canberra, Museum of Modern Art Queensland, Tamarind Art Gallery New York City and NIFTY Gateway.

She established the original science art research collaboration with the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies on behalf of SCA in 2003 and was Co-Chair of REDEFINING ANIMATION The 25th Annual Conference of the Society for Animation Studies hosted at the School of Cinematic Arts, USC 2013.

Kathy teaches Expanded Animation, Master’s Thesis, Visualizing Science and Contemporary Topics: Animation, Dreams & Consciousness. Her research focuses on expanded animation practice and animation as consciousness, and she is currently collaborating with Hanson Robotics to explore new forms of animation gesture and storytelling for robotics, AI, and virtual characters

Kathy is currently working on a series of 2D animations and AR oil painted landscapes, including an immersive VR dream series.

University and Academic Awards
USC Research Collaboration Fund Award 2021
Provost Grant 2017
Mellon Award for Mentoring Graduate Students University of Southern California 2013
Impact Award for Education from Adobe Sytems Inc. 2011
Interdisciplinary Zumberge Research Grant, University of Southern California 2010
Interdisciplinary Zumberge Research Grant, University of Southern California 2008
Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Recognition Award in the Creative Arts, University of Southern California 2005
Individual Zumberge Research Grant University of Southern California 2005

See more about Kathy Smith’s art and interviews here: www.kathymoods.org