Creative Technologies Research Lab
The Creative Technologies Research Lab (CTRL) investigates how technology transforms our creative practices and cultures, and how technology is itself a subject, medium and domain of creativity.
Innovation first, curiosity always.
Co-directed by Dr Oliver Bown and Dr Patricia Flanagan, CTRL brings together artists, designers and critical theorists, with strengths in interactive media arts, creative AI, wearables, performance, sound, and speculative design.
Our work aims to understand and support creative practitioners working with new technologies; to use technology to support the expression and understanding of critical issues through art; and to champion the value of human and more-than-human creative cultures, highlighting the risks and opportunities of technology to those ecologies.
Research areas
Shaping an AI-powered future
We are proud to have contributed our expertise to the review process of Australia’s Voluntary AI Safety Standard, as recognised by the National AI Centre (NAIC) of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. This recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to exploring the ethical, creative, and technological impacts of AI and emerging media technologies, and our role at the forefront of research and innovation in responsible AI development.
Lab members
Lab directors
Oliver Bown
Oliver Bown
Associate Professor
Research Focus:
Generative Art, Digital Media, Computational Creativity, Interactive Systems, Sound Art
Patricia Flanagan
Patricia Flanagan
Senior Lecturer
Research Focus:
Wearables, Haptic Interfaces, Critical and Speculative Design, Human-Computer Interaction
Researchers
Ainslie Murray
Ainslie Murray
Associate Professor
Research Focus:
Architecture, Art History, Theory and Criticism, Design Practice and Methods, Design Anthropology
Alex Davies
Alex Davies
Senior Lecturer
Research Focus:
Immersive Media, Interactive Cinema, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Digital Art
Andrew Yip
Andrew Yip
Senior Lecturer
Research Focus:
Immersive Visualisation, Experimental Digital Technologies, Cultural Heritage, New Media Platforms, Interactive Design
Anna Munster
Anna Munster
Professor
Research Focus:
Digital Aesthetics, Media Theory, New Media Art, Networked Cultures, Affect and Technology
Anna Tow
Anna Tow
Professor
Research Focus:
Digital Aesthetics, Media Theory, New Media Art, Networked Cultures, Affect and Technology
Ant Banister
Ant Banister
Specialist MM & Immersive
Research Focus:
Electronic Music, Sound Design, Interactive Installations, Audiovisual Performance, Immersive Environments
Brad Miller
Brad Miller
Honorary Senior Lecturer
Research Focus:
Interactive Media, Digital Art, Networked Environments, User Experience, Electronic Arts
Bronwen Williams
Bronwen Williams
Lecturer
Research Focus:
Visual Arts, Contemporary Painting, Mixed Media, Site-Specific Art, Art Theory
Caleb Kelly
Caleb Kelly
Associate Professor
Research Focus:
Sound Art, Experimental Music, Performance Art, Curatorial Practice, Sound Studies
Deborah Tillman
Deborah Tillman
Director, Life Long Learning
Research Focus:
Art Education, Community Arts, Participatory Art, Visual Culture, Creative Practice
Elias Berkout
Elias Berkout
Immersive Technologies Support Officer
Research Focus:
Interactive Design, User Experience, Digital Media, Human-Computer Interaction, Multimedia Art
Haider Akmal
Haider Akmal
Lecturer
Research Focus:
More-than-Human Design, Speculative Design, Digital Storytelling, Interactive Media, Contemporary Art, Printmaking
Jonathan Shaw
Jonathan Shaw
Research Administration & Casual Academic
Research Focus:
Human-Computer Interaction, Speculative Design, Affective Interaction, Cultural Ecology, Interactive Media Art, Design Sociology
June Kim
June Kim
Lecturer
Research Focus:
Digital Media, Interaction Design, Immersion and Simulation in Human Culture, Media Technology History, Emerging Applications of Technologies
Karen Kriss
Karen Kriss
Senior Lecturer
Research Focus:
Media Arts, Visual Culture, Performance Studies, Digital Humanities, Contemporary Art
Kurt Mikolajczyk
Kurt Mikolajczyk
Research Officer
Research Focus:
Interactive Installation Art, Media Multiplicities, Music Technology, Composition and Performance
Matt Cabanag
Matt Cabanag
Associate Lecturer
Research Focus:
Digital Media, Interactive Installations, Virtual Reality, Immersive Environments, Creative Technologies
Michael Richardson
Michael Richardson
Associate Professor
Research Focus:
Media Theory, Synthetic Media, Media Witnessing, Affect and Technology
Rebecca Green
Rebecca Green
Lecturer
Research Focus:
Digital Illustration, Children's Literature, Visual Storytelling, Animation, Creative Writing
Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Lecturer
Research Focus:
Inclusive Design, Disability, Neurodiversity, Assistive Technology
Stephen Loo
Stephen Loo
Professor
Research Focus:
Biophilosophy, Post-Humanist Ethics and Justice, Ecological Humanities, Neuropsychology, Performance Research, Architecture and Design Theory
Teresa Crea
Teresa Crea
Senior Lecturer
Research Focus:
Theatre Studies, Performance Art, Interactive Media, Digital Storytelling, Cultural Studies
HDR students
Caitlin Dubler
Caitlin Dubler
Casual Academic & PhD Candidate
Research Focus:
Experimental Craft Processes, Social Impact Design, Processual Creative Practice, Collaborative Art, Design Democratisation
Chloe McFadden
Chloe McFadden
Casual Academic & PhD Candidate
Research Focus:
Machine Learning, Disruptive Approaches to Prediction and Technology, Critical Engagement with Algorithms and Prediction
Jiaying Qian
Jiaying Qian
PhD Student
Research Focus:
Smart Textile, Wearable Technology, More-than-Human Design, Speculative Design, Interactive Art, Experimental Craft Processes
Jingwen Yuan
Jingwen Yuan
PhD Candidate
Research Focus:
Contemporary Jewellery, Digital and Handcraft Techniques, Data Visualisation in Creative Practice, Computational Design
Rodolfo Ocampo
Rodolfo Ocampo
PhD Candidate
Research Focus:
Dialogic Interaction for Creative AI, Creative Technology
Syna Chen
Syna Chen
Casual Academic & PhD Candidate
Research Focus:
Wearable Technology, Fashion Design, Speculative Design, Non-Human Experience, Human-Technology Interface, Provocative Embodiment
Courses for students in creative technologies
UNSW School of Art & Design has 7 courses in creative technologies open to undergraduate and postgraduate students:
- DART2331 Data Aesthetics
- DART2252 Generative AI for Artists
- DDES1062 Smart Textiles
- DDES1150 Interaction 1
- DDES2150 Interaction 2
- DDES2151 Interaction 3
- DDES9154 Wearable and Bio-Sensing Technologies
The Creative Technologies Research Lab offers Work-Integrated Learning placements through:
Location & contact
Creative Technologies Research Lab
Room GG14, G Block, UNSW Art & Design (Paddington Campus)
Cnr Greens Rd & Albion Ave
Paddington NSW 2021
Acknowledgement of Country
UNSW School of Art & Design stands on an important place of learning and exchange first occupied by the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples.
We acknowledge the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land that our students and staff share, create and operate on. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend this respect to all First Nations peoples across Australia. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
