Toby Lee

Toby Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She previously served as Director of the Collaborative Studio program at UnionDocs: Center for Documentary Art in Brooklyn, NY (2012–2014). Her research and artistic practice intersect, emphasizing visual anthropology, cultural institutions, and documentary experimentation. She holds office hours at NYU’s Tisch School and maintains collaborations with institutions like Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab.

Education includes:

• PhD in Anthropology and Film & Visual Studies, Harvard University
• MPhil in Modern Greek Literature, Oxford University
• BA in Anthropology and Modern Greek Studies, Columbia University

Research focuses on ethnographic approaches to film festivals, cultural citizenship in austerity Greece, and expanded documentary forms. Her work critiques neoliberalism’s impact on public culture and explores how media documentation intersects with power structures. Key outputs include her monograph The Public Life of Cinema: Conflict and Collectivity in Austerity Greece (2020) and experimental films addressing waste, memory, and surveillance.

Her articles and exhibitions reflect a trend toward interdisciplinary analysis, blending anthropological theory with artistic practice. Recent works examine material culture (e.g., recycling facilities), urban spaces, and the politics of cultural preservation.

Scientific awards include the 2007 2nd Best Creative Documentary Award for Bell dress, alongside grants from the NY State Council on the Arts, Fulbright Foundation, and others. Lee’s projects often involve collaborative teams, such as her work with Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga on installations like Anepikaira and Single Stream.

Her artistic practice spans film, video installations, drawing, and performance. Notable works include COMPOSITE (2017), a film exploring memory through police sketches, and Royal (2007), a meditation on time and place. She also co-founded Eugene presents: The Colossus of Long Island (2005) and curated site-specific events like Anepikaira (2009) in Thessaloniki.