Lisa Birke

Lisa Birke is an interdisciplinary artist and faculty member at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Arts and Science, where she founded the Digital and Integrated Practice (DIP) area in the Department of Art & Art History in 2019. Her work intersects performance, video art, augmented reality, and installation to critique cultural norms and explore subjective realities through Canadian landscape narratives.

Education:

• BFA (1999) in Visual Art (Painting) from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design
• MFA (2013) in Fine Arts (Studio Art) with distinction from the University of Waterloo

Birke’s research investigates the collision of art history, pop culture, and everyday life in multi-channel digital works. She blurs the line between theatrics and documentation, focusing on themes like postfeminist critique, relational aesthetics, and technological mediation. Recent projects include TrippingTime (2024) and Natures of Reality (2021), both utilizing augmented reality for public engagement.

Key scientific trends: Immerse audiences in layered realities, challenge normative representations, and employ collaborative digital tools (360 video, AR) to address themes of community, tolerance, and the deconstruction of perfection.

Scientific awards:

• Provost’s New Teacher Award (2022)
• USSU Teaching Excellence Award (2022)
• Canada Council for the Arts Grow Grant (2023-2024)
• Arizona International Film Festival Jury Award (2024)

Teaching & advising: Birke advocates for competence, autonomy, and relatedness in pedagogy, emphasizing foundational skills alongside experimental risk-taking. She served as graduate chair (2019-2022) and mentors students in digital media, installation, and performance art.

Labs & teams: Principal Investigator for the Shared Spaces augmented reality outreach project (University of Saskatchewan), collaborating with international institutions and grade 8 students in Germany.