Dr. Heidi Kumao

Biography

Heidi Kumao generates artistic spectacle at the intersection of cinema, sculpture, theater, and technology. She reframes ordinary gestures to explore the psychological underside of modern life. Her interests manifest in a wide range of hybrid art forms, including game interfaces that empower users, provocative electronic clothing for women, electromechanical representations of girlhood that 'misbehave', surreal stop-motion animations, narrative video sculptures, and short experimental films that she refers to as 'cinema machines'. Her work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Canada, and China. Notable solo shows include those at the Museu da Imagem e Som in São Paulo and the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona. Kumao has received numerous fellowships, grants, and awards, including the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and grants from national arts funding organizations. Her films have been screened at various festivals globally, earning several accolades such as a Jury’s Choice Award at the Black Maria Film Festival. Before her tenure at the University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art & Design, Kumao taught at multiple renowned institutions, including Syracuse University and the University of Maryland.

Research Interests

Experience