York University
Faculty of Fine Arts
Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in – Digital Performance
Digitally Mediated Performance | Embedded Performance Systems
The Faculty of Fine Arts at York University invites applications for a tenure-track
position in the area of Digital Performance at the Assistant Professor or Associate
Professor level with a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) appointment to commence on
July 1, 2014. One of North America’s leading schools for the arts, The Faculty of Fine
Arts offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Dance, Design, Digital
Media, Film, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts. <finearts.yorku.ca>
This pan-faculty position will attract a well-established, hybrid research-practitioner
with an innovative programme of research and technology development in the area
of digital performance, which explores how digital media is transforming
performance practice, as well as how the experience of digitally mediated
performance is increasingly animating and transforming cultural expression.
The successful candidate will have demonstrable expertise examining, contributing
to the development of, and defining new directions in one or more of the following:
(1) the creation and use of digital technologies in live and recorded performance for
dance, moving image, music, performance art, and theatre (e.g. augmented,
multimedia and immersive environments for the expanded stage, embedded and
interactive performance systems, real-time ambisonic and wavefront synthesis,
virtual reality, motion capture, interactive digital video, mechatronics, robotics, and
telepresence in performance); (2) the investigation and creation of technologies that
facilitate individual and collective performance of identity and social engagement
through their enactment, reading, and contextualization in digitally mediated
environments (e.g. online interactive and social networks, distributed reality,
locative media and mobile technologies, apps development, wearable technology
and embodied interaction).
Linked to the new University Strategic Research Plan, which identifies Digital
Cultures as a compelling opportunity for development by pushing “technological
boundaries while critically investigating the social and cultural impacts” of new
technologies on human activity and interaction. The successful candidate will play
an active role in, Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts and Technology Research, a new
research unit based in the Faculty of Fine Arts <finearts.yorku.ca/sensorium/>.
The successful candidate will have a PhD or equivalent in the areas of Performance,
Theatre and Performance Studies, Dance, Music, Film and Media Studies, Digital
Media, or a related Fine Arts or Computer Science discipline, an outstanding
research record, demonstrated excellence or the potential for excellence in
teaching, and must be eligible for prompt appointment to the Faculty of Graduate
Studies. The candidate is expected to provide leadership by fostering collaborative
research, securing external funding, making links across art, computer science and
engineering, and generating national and international academic, community and
industry partnerships. The Chairholder will be placed in a Department(s) which most
closely reflects their experience.
This appointment is subject to approval by the CRC program review process. The
Canada Research Chairs program was established by the Government of Canada to
enable Canadian universities to achieve the highest levels of research excellence in
the global, knowledge-based economy. Tier 2 Chairs have five-year terms, are
renewable once, and are intended for exceptional emerging researchers (fewer than
10 years post terminal degree) who have the acknowledged potential to lead their
field of research. Information about the CRC program can be found at
<www.chairs.gc.ca>.
York University offers a world-class, interdisciplinary academic experience in
Toronto, Canada’s most multicultural city. York is a centre of innovation, with a
thriving community of almost 60,000 faculty, staff, and students who change the
ordinary and deliver the unexpected. <www.yorku.ca>
All York University positions are subject to budgetary approval. York University is an
Affirmative Action Employer. The Affirmative Action Program can be found on York’s
website at <www.yorku.ca/acadjobs> or a copy can be obtained by calling the
affirmative action office at +1 416 736-5713. All qualified candidates are encouraged
to apply; however, Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents will be given priority.
Applicants should submit a detailed CV, statement of contribution to research and
teaching, links to creative and/or scholarly work, and three letters of reference.
The deadline for receipt of applications is December 06, 2013.
Applications should be sent to:
Jim Fenton
Secretary, FFA CRC Search Committee
York University
Faculty of Fine Arts, GCFA 201
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Tel: +1 416 736-2100 x 20033
Email: jfenton@yorku.ca
