Embodied Narratives

Nonny de la Peña, founder of Emblematic Group, was named WSJ Technology Innovator of the Year and one of CNET’s 20 Most Influential Latinos in Tech, as well as being dubbed “the Godmother of Virtual Reality” by Engadget and The Guardian for her leadership using cutting-edge technologies to tell important stories. Her latest breakthrough is Emblematic’s WebVR platform REACH, a no-code toolset which creates scalable distribution in the medium, democratizes content authorship, and empowers new voices to share their stories.

A Yale Poynter Media Fellow and a former correspondent for Newsweek, Ms. de la Peña is widely credited with pioneering the genre of immersive journalism. She was selected by Wired Magazine as a #MakeTechHuman Agent of Change, and Fast Company named her “One of the People Who Made the World More Creative” for her work in immersive storytelling. Under her leadership, Emblematic has built a critically acclaimed body of work using a range of technologies, from 360 video; to VR, AR, and XR technologies; to AI and machine learning. Emblematic’s diverse roster of world-class clients includes Cartier, Google, Lenovo, Italian fashion brand GCDS, and the World Economic Forum.

Tapan Parikh is an Associate Professor of Information Science at Cornell Tech in New York City. His research interests include human-computer interaction and the design and use of information technologies for supporting youth and community development. Professor Parikh currently leads the Milstein Program at Cornell Tech, which bridges technological innovation with human interests through collaboration with humanities scholars and local arts and culture organizations. He also teaches the Remaking the City course, which connects graduate students with civic organizations to work on service learning and design projects for local impact. Previously, Professor Parikh was one of the founders of the field of Information and Communications Technologies and Development (ICTD) and helped start several international social enterprises working in this area. Professor Parikh has received the NSF CAREER award, a Sloan Fellowship, and a UW Diamond Early Career Award, and he was named Technology Review magazine’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2007.

Anna Huff’s work spans performance, sound, technology, mixed media, and interactivity. She frequently engages intersections of body, object, and ritual to reveal social and technological structures that tie individuals to communities. Professor Huff is also a founding member of media performance collective Cloud Eye Control, creating interactive and time-based work that addresses speculative futures and the impact of technology on the human psyche.

Professor Huff has special interests in interdisciplinary pedagogy, collaboration, and potentials for “liveness,” as well as community building across digital and hybrid platforms. She was a recent performance fellow at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Additional performances and presentations include the New Museum; Redcat, Los Angeles; MoMA PS1; and Festival A Mil, Chile, among others. Professor Huff is an Assistant Professor of Digital Art at Hamilton College. She previously taught at Cornell University’s Department of Art and the Calarts Center for Integrated Media.