Abertay University
PhD in School of Design and Informatics: Division of Games and Art | Awarded July 2019
Thesis Title: Arcades, Let’s Plays, and Avant-Gardes: Perspectives for Analyzing and Developing Videogame Exhibitions for Arts Audiences
University of Edinburgh
MSc in Modern and Contemporary Art: History, Curating and Criticism | 2014 (Merit)
Dissertation Title: Video Games within Art Institutions: Theory and Practice .
Susquehanna University
Dual BA in Creative Writing and Art History | 2013 (Summa Cum Laude)
Dissertation Title: A Narrative of Many Voices: Display Strategies for Conceptual Art (Art Department Honors)
January 2016 – October 2017
Part Time Lecturer | Abertay University | Dundee
I delivered lectures and tutorials, graded exams and provided student feedback for first degree and postgraduate courses on games criticism, narrative development, and digital media history. Preparing for this role included taking a course on Teaching in Higher Education.
October 2013 – May 2014
Education Assistant | Peter Potter Gallery | Haddington
I developed and delivered educational and outreach programming connecting the art gallery to the community, including tours, workshops, and learning materials for children and adults.
June 2013 – August 2013
Media & Technology Intern | Smithsonian American Art Museum | Washington, DC
I planned and developed effective social media posts, email newsletters, blog entries and other online content to support and promote the museum's current programming.
June 2012 – August 2012
Photography Department Intern | Walters Art Museum | Baltimore, MD
I successfully handled, transcribed, and recorded data and image descriptions for a large acquisition of historical photo albums and logbooks relating to the establishment of the gallery and its collections.
June 2011 – August 2011
Archive Intern | Jewish Museum of Maryland | Baltimore, MD
I safely handled a variety of historical artefacts, archival documents, large photo collections and other objects, digitizing them with scanners and digital cameras, preparing CMS entries for new accessions and writing effective object descriptions. I also transcribed interviews from the audio archive.
April 2019
Now Play This Zine Library | Somerset House | London
As the curator of the zine library space I had to manage the budget, gather supplies, set up and facilitate a zine library and zine-making space within the annual Now Play This festival exhibition. Acquiring the material for the zine library involved curating an international selection of zines related to the festival’s themes while also representing the variety of zine practices.
August 2018
Pixels X Paper | Babycastles | New York
This exhibition presented a selection of videogames from creators who use Bitsy or Flatgame tools to make short, personal games. It explored how these tools influenced the aesthetics and themes of the games, and featured components where the games extended into physical space, or the visitor could create a game. I developed the proposal for the exhibition, curated a selection of games, liaised with co-curators and artists, and prepared the accompanying zine content and custom installation elements for the featured Flatgames.
April 2017 & November 2017
Games Are For Everyone V & VI | We Throw Switches | Edinburgh
I curated videogames to feature in large-scale room installations, liaising with artists and conducting exhibition installation for this one-night event series, where experimental custom installations of independent and art games are displayed in the historic venue of The Caves in Edinburgh.
August - October 2016
The Blank Arcade 2016 | Hannah Maclure Centre | Dundee
As a co-curator of the yearly exhibition of experimental games that is displayed alongside DiGRA conferences I expanded the scope of the show by increasing the length from the week of the conference to three months, in addition to playing a primary role in the selection process, liaising with artists, writing the catalogue and wall texts, and organizing public events to support the exhibition.
July - September 2016
PLAYER | Perth Art Museum | Perth
For this exhibition on the history of controllers and player interfaces I was consulted for research into the equipment needs as well as helping to develop the timeline and wall text which would accompany the show. My research was supported by a grant from the Association of Art Historians.
Science Fiction Film and Television (forthcoming special issue on gaming) – ‘“I Find This Disgusting but I Can’t Help Myself”: Videogame Panics and Sinister Origins in ‘90s Sci-Fi Media’
Indie Games in the Digital Age chapter (2020) - ‘From Tool to Community to Style: The Influence of Software Tools on Game Development Communities and Aesthetics’
EGMnow: ‘ Animal Crossing, SimCity, and the Long History of City Planning in Games’ (2020)
ToDiGRA (Vol. 4 No. 2, 2018)– Exhibition Strategies for Videogames in Art Institutions: The Blank Arcade 2016
Now Play This (2018) – Manifesto Jam Selections and Catalog Essay
British Council Commission (2018) – ‘Under the Hood of Small Games,’ ‘Interview with Natalie Clayton,’ ‘Interview with Jack King-Spooner’ and ‘Interview with Niall Moody’
Rock, Paper, Shotgun : ‘90s CD-ROM Games Still Have a Lot to Teach Us’ (2017) ‘Occupy White Walls Removes the Dark Cloud Hanging Over All Art Exhibitions’ (2019)
In Media Res: Transformative Games (2017) – ‘ SimCopter’
Critical Hits chapter (2016, ed. Zoe Jellicoe) – ‘Mouse Power’
Regular writer for New Media and Digital Arts magazine The Arcade Review from 2014 – 2016
Game Engines Beyond Games Symposium (New York/Online, 2020) – Speaker
Climate Fictions Issue: Paradoxa: Studies in World Literary Genres (2020) – Reviewer
DiGRA (Tampere, 2020) – Panelist on Game Engines Panel (Cancelled due to COVID-19)
Interviewer for “Keywords in Play” podcast for Critical Distance (2020)
Back to the Future: Seminar on Computer Games (National Library of Scotland, 2019) – Speaker and panelist on computer game history and exhibitions
Speculation Jam (2020) – Organized games writing jam.
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Digital Play (King’s College London, 2019) – Panelist on Videogames and Life Writing panel
Lost Histories Jam (2019) – Organized games writing jam, Featured at Now Play This
DiGRA (Turin, 2018) – Reviewer, Presented Against Playability
CEEGS (Prague, 2018) – Reviewer
Manifesto Jam (2018) – Organized games writing jam, Featured at Now Play This
DiGRA (Melbourne, 2017) – Reviewer, Presented Exhibition Strategies for Videogames in Art Institutions: The Blank Arcade 2016
Weave: Platform Visiting Artist Organizing Committee (August 2017 – November 2019)
MULTIPLATFORM (Manchester, 2017) – Presented Exhibiting Arguments: Building a Typology of Videogame Exhibitions in Art Institutions
A Maze (Berlin, 2017) Invited Speaker – Masterclass Interview with Mel Croucher
Game Think 2.0 (Glasgow, 2017) – Presented Investigating the History of Videogame Exhibitions
Visual Essay Jam (2017) – Organized games writing jam, Featured on Critical Distance
NEoN Digital Arts Festival Symposium Co-Chair and Curatorial Committee (2016 – 2018)
The Practices and Politics of Inclusivity in Games (Leicester, 2016) – Presented Where are My Game Masters?: Canonicity and Game Exhibitions
Delivered lecture at Dundee Contemporary Arts on Theresa Duncan's work to accompany retrospective exhibition of her videogames (2016)
FDG-DiGRA (Dundee, 2016) – Program support, Presented The Aesthetics of Speedrunning