Laura U. Marks

Laura U. Marks is the Grant Strate University Professor in the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University (SFU), located on unceded Coast Salish territory. Her work bridges media art, philosophy, and environmental sustainability, with a focus on small-footprint media and intercultural studies. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and has held visiting roles at institutions like Harvard University and Zurich University for the Arts.

Education: PhD (1996) and MA (1994) in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester; BA (1987) in Art History and Sociology from Swarthmore College.

Research interests include experimental media, film theory, Islamicate visual traditions, and the environmental impact of digital media. Her recent projects, funded by a Guggenheim Fellowship, explore mitigating streaming media’s carbon footprint through small-file workflows. Key publications include The Fold: From Your Body to the Cosmos (2024) and Hanan al-Cinema: Affections for the Moving Image (2015).

Recent talks include keynote addresses at the Eco Media Footprints workshop (Jönköping University, 2025) and the Saudi Film Festival (2025). She co-founded the Substantial Motion Research Network (2018) and the Small File Media Festival, advocating for low-carbon media practices.

Awards include the College Art Association’s Mather Award (2017) and the SFU Leadership Award (2021). She actively participates in SFU’s Faculty for Palestine and Council on Islamophobia.