Faculty of Media Arts

Dean
Wolfgang Muench

Diplom Freie Grafik (MA Fine Arts equivalent), State Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart, Germany

Academic Qualifications in progress
PhD Candidate (Scenography), University of Vienna, Institute of Theatre, Film and Media Studies, and ZHdK University of the Arts Zurich, Institute for Design and Technology
MAS Masters of Advanced Studies, ZHdK University of the Arts Zurich, Institute for Design and Technology

Wolfgang Muench is a media artist and art educator. He studied Fine Arts in a pre-computer era at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, Germany, and the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria. In 1996, he joined the ZKM Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany, as programmer and software designer. He was involved in various projects at the ZKM institutes of Visual Media, Music and Network-Development, such as the 'Panoramic Navigator' and the CD-ROM series 'artintact' and 'digital arts edition'. He taught Interactive Media at Merz-Academy Stuttgart (1997), Hong Kong Art Centre / The Art School (2003) and LASALLE Singapore (2003), and was artist in residence at ARS Electronica Linz, Austria (2001), ZKM (2002), and IAMAS Institute for Advanced Media Arts and Science Ogaki, Japan (2003). In his artworks and research, he examines socio-cultural implications of media technology and human computer interfaces. His interactive installations and artworks, including 'Bubbles' (in collaboration with K. Furukawa), and 'Small Fish', in collaboration with K. Furukawa and M. Fujihata, have been shown in numerous international media art exhibitions and festivals in Europe, America and Asia. In 2004, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Media Arts at LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore, and Chair of the LASALLE Research Committee in 2008.

The Puttnam School of Film

Head of The Puttnam School of Film
Gisli Snaer Erlingsson

Gisli Snaer has been honored for his feature films at festivals in 13 nations, including Chicago-USA, Kerman-Iran & Giffoni-Italy. In addition, he has been the creative force behind highly successful advertising campaigns around the globe, for many major brands such as One, Cisco, Toyota, Yamaha, Ricoh, Iceland Air and the European Council.

Gisli joined the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV) in 1986 as a writer and host of a comic youth program. He worked as an assistant director, assistant editor and production manager in various film productions and then studied at the Sveriges Television (SVT) in 1988, focusing on directing and producing television dramas. From 1988 to 1990, he directed and produced a number of television programs; variety shows, television dramas, comedy shows, live concerts, etc ., for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.

In 1990, Gisli enrolled at the prestigious film school La Fémis, in France where he studied film directing. Since graduating, with a undergraduate and postgraduate degree, and to present day, Gisli Snaer has directed award- winning feature films such as Benjamin Dove, and Ikingut, and a number of TV-commercials. In addition, he has developed, with the support of the Icelandic Film Centre, several screenplays, co-written with Steve Baker, of the English design group tomato.

Before joining LASALLE, Gisli was running his own production & distribution company, Ansur Pictures Co., Ltd. in Japan. He’s a member of the Director’s Guld of Iceland, and has been a member of the jury at international film festivals, such as the Berlin International Film Festival.

Lecturer-in-Charge & Co-ordinator, Film
Charles Maideen

Certificate in Production Management, Australian Film Television and Radio School
Master of Business Administration, Bharathiar University, India
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Bharathiar University, India

Media Arts Undergraduate Studies

Senior Lecturer/Pathway Leader, Media Arts
Chris Shaw

Master of Arts in Computer Animation & Visualisation (with Distinction), Bournemouth University, United Kingdom
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Graphic Design, Falmouth School of Art and Design, United Kingdom
Diploma in Foundation Studies, Kingston University, United Kingdom

Lecturer & Pathway Coordinator, Interactive Art
Teresa Almeida

New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY, USA, Master’s in Interactive Telecommunications
Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Design, College of Theatre and Film, Lisbon, Portugal

• Research intersts include Mobile and Locative Media, Wearable Technology Art, Interactive Textiles, Tangible and Embodied Interfaces, Physical computing
• Awards received include the Banff New Media Institute - Residency Scholarship Award (2009), Roberto Cimetta Fund for artistic mobility in the Mediterranean, Travel Grant (2006), European Pépinières for Young Artists Residency Program, Residency Award (2006) and
  Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation|Luso-American Foundation Fellowship 2004-2005
• Participated in exhibitions such as 'Futurotextiel 08: surprising textile, art & design' in Courtrai, Belgium (2008), 'Social Fabrics: Art + Media + Interconnectivity', in Texas, USA (2008), 'ENTER3 - 3rd International Festival for Arts, Sciences and Technologies. I, Resident, French Institute' in Prague, Czech Republic (2007), '13th International Festival of Computer Arts' in Maribor, Slovenia (2007), 'Extra-Sensory, Mode & Nouvelles Technologies' in Paris France (2006) and ' Future Fashion Event' in  Paris, France (2006).
• Published articles include 'Urban Empathy' in Pervasive 2008, 'Inhabiting the Body and the Spaces of Interaction' in Architectural Design and 'Fashionable Technology: the Intersection of Design, Fashion, Science, and Technology'.

Lecturer, Media Arts
Rashid Saini

Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts, Deakin University, Australia
Advanced Diploma in Mass Communication, International Business and Management Education Centre (IBMEC), Singapore

Lecturer, Media Lab
Andreas Schlegel

Master of Science in Media Arts and Technology, University of California, Santa Barbara, United States of America
Master of Arts, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Diploma in Communication Design, Merz Akademie Stuttgart, Germany

Lecturer, Media Arts
Khalid Almkhlaafy