Ari Melenciano is an artist, designer, creative technologist, researcher, and futurist, who is passionate about exploring the relationships between various forms of design and the human experience. Currently, Her research lies at the intersections of human-computer interactive technologies, social impacts of technology, counterculture, sound, multisensory experiential design, experimental pedagogy and speculative design.
Ari is the founder of Afrotectopia, a social institution fostering interdisciplinary innovation at the intersections of art, design, technology, Black culture and activism. Afrotectopia is most commonly experienced via their annual New Media Arts, Culture and Technology Festival hosted by Google. Afrotectopia also most recently developed The School of Afrotectopia, hosted by Verizon Media, serving 250 students through 2 weeks of free courses.
She currently teaches technology, society and design at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Graduate Program (ITP) and the Pratt Institute's Communications Design school. Ari is continuing her research as an NYU Interactive Telecommunications Graduate Program Fellow. She is incubating her electromedia art practice through technology residencies at Pioneer Works and Culture Hub, and is an Experiments in Arts and Technology track member at New Inc in partnership with Rhizome and Nokia Bell Labs.
She is also a consultant for NYC’s Department of Education, helping to build STEAM curriculum that is culturally relevant.
Ari has exhibited work at a variety of art and cultural institutions including The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Africa Center and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Ari obtained an M.P.S. from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications graduate Program (ITP) in 2018, and conducted research as an ITP Research Fellow from 2018-2019. She also studied art, design and architecture at The University of Maryland and Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.
