CANCELED: The Paradox of Virtual Visibility: Featuring Tina Rivers Ryan, Hasan Elahi, and Sean Fader

Hasan Elahi (he/him/his) works with issues in surveillance, privacy, migration, citizenship, technology, and the challenges of borders. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions at venues such as SITE Santa Fe, Centre Georges Pompidou, Sundance Film Festival, and at the Venice Biennale. Elahi has spoken to audiences as diverse as the Tate Modern, and presented to broadly diverse institutional audiences, including: the American Association of Artificial Intelligence, International Association of Privacy Professionals, TED Global, and the World Economic Forum. His work is frequently covered in the media and has appeared on Al Jazeera, Fox News, and on The Colbert Report. In addition to the Creative Capital Award in 2006, his awards include grants from the Art Matters Foundation in 2011, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2016.

In 2002, Hasan Elahi was wrongly identified as a potential terrorist, leading to a six-month investigation by the FBI. In response, he began a long-term project called Tracking Transience, 2002–present, in which he posts documentation of his daily activities to the internet so that the FBI can monitor him more easily. By transforming the normally secret and coercive act of surveillance into a public and voluntary one, the project satirically embraces the erosion of civil rights in America, especially the increased surveillance of immigrants, people of color, and Muslims in the wake of 9/11.

Sean Fader (he/him/his) is currently an Assistant Professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in the Department of Photography and Imaging. Sean Fader received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, his MA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and his BFA from the New School in New York City. Fader is represented by Denny Dimin Gallery in New York City and Hong Kong. Fader is also a collective member of Antenna in New Orleans, where he had his most recent solo show, Insufficient Memory. His most recent solo show at Denny Dimin Gallery in Tribecca, THIRST/TRAP, was created with the support of a Skau Music and Arts Grant from Tulane University. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally in Dubai, Canada, Mexico, and England.

Tina Rivers Ryan (she/her/hers) is a curator, art historian, and critic specializing in art since the 1960s. She holds five degrees in art history, including a BA from Harvard and PhD from Columbia. Although broadly trained in Western art, her particular expertise is in the field of media art, including video, digital, and internet art. Throughout her career, Dr. Ryan has worked with some of the world’s leading art institutions and organizations, including The Met, MoMA, and Artforum. She has received some of the most prestigious honors for curators and critics, including: Association of Art Museum Curators Award for Excellence (2022), Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant (2022), Artnet Innovators List (2022).

Ryan is Curator at Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curator of the Award Winning exhibition Difference Machines, Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art.