Jeff Soyk

Jeff Soyk is a part-time lecturer at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and an award-winning media artist specializing in interactive documentaries, UX/UI design, and creative coding. He holds a BFA in New Media Design from Rochester Institute of Technology (2005) and an MFA in Media Art from Emerson College (2013). Currently freelancing as a creative director and MIT Open Documentary Lab fellow alum, Soyk merges socially-conscious storytelling with emerging technologies.

• Education: BFA from RIT, MFA from Emerson College
• Affiliation: Tufts University (SMFA), MIT (affiliate/fellow alum)

His research explores interactive documentary frameworks, creative coding for social impact, and UX/UI design in non-linear narratives. Projects like Inheritance (2016 Peabody-Facebook Award) and Zeki Müren Hotline (2022 Webby Honoree) demonstrate his focus on queer cultural studies, digital ethics, and community preservation through multimedia.

Recent work includes SE Chicago Archive & Storytelling Project (2022 WCSA Studs Terkel Award), which digitized 1,000+ historical items about the steel industry’s impact on Southeast Chicago. This project, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, combines digital humanities with oral history methodologies.

Scientific awards include:

• 2013 Peabody Award (Hollow)
• 2016 News & Documentary Emmy Winner (Inheritance)
• 2021 News & Documentary Emmy (In Event of Moon Disaster)
• 2022 Webby Honoree: NetArt (Zeki Müren Hotline)