maikobig

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2016

For more information, contact:
Andrea Mancuso
andrea@virocode.com
(716) 440-7621

Who: Maiko Tanaka

What: Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center announces Maiko Tanaka as its new Executive Director!

When: September 2016 and beyond

Where: Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center, 617 Main Street, Buffalo, New York, 14203

Why: Breaking news regarding an exciting new member of the WNY community

[Buffalo, NY] – Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center is excited to announce the beginning of Maiko Tanaka’s tenure as Executive Director. Maiko has worked for the past decade as a curator and producer of contemporary media arts projects throughout Canada and The Netherlands. She brings her extensive experience managing art spaces and producing curatorial projects to Squeaky Wheel and the larger community, as well as her passion for exploring the intersections of art, technology, research, and performance.

“I’m so thrilled to be part of this vibrant, growing, and historically significant media arts community,” says Maiko Tanaka, Executive Director, Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center. “I look forward to the opportunity to further enrich and expand media arts with Buffalo based artists, organizations, and beyond.”

“Following an extensive seven month-long international search, the Executive Search Committee was unanimous in their decision to hire Maiko Tanaka. We’re confident that she’ll make valuable contributions given her knowledge of the field, enthusiasm towards community-driven projects, and vision for the future of contemporary art in Buffalo.” – Andrea Mancuso, Board Chair, Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center

“Maiko is the perfect choice to take the helm at Squeaky Wheel. I am extremely impressed by her unique ability to cultivate cultural exchange and initiate partnerships across sectors, disciplines and communities.” – Anna Scime, exiting Interim Executive Director, Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center

Maiko is looking forward to continuing her work in developing media arts initiatives that can cultivate and support old and new generations of media artists working in new technology at Squeaky Wheel. She is particularly enthusiastic about the potential of games, virtual reality (VR), and apps as new vehicles for artistic practice. In addition to her keen interest in new media technologies, Maiko’s work also aligns itself with Squeaky Wheel’s mission through her ongoing interest in societal concerns from local, global and culturally diverse perspectives.

Maiko begins her stewardship with an exciting Fall line-up including Squeaky Wheel’s fall fundraiser, the Third Party, on September 24th; the debut of a Squeaky Wheel resident-artist produced VR project at Curtain Up; a new Sci Fi screening series; and a full roster of media arts workshops and public equipment access.

Squeaky Wheel’s 31-year mission is to continue a legacy of innovation in the media arts through access, education, and exhibition. We envision a community that uses film & digital media to celebrate freedom of expression & diversity of voice. Squeaky Wheel is guided by core values including: Creativity & Experimentation: We embrace experimentation as essential to the creative process; Media & Digital Literacy: We engage individuals with technical and critical approaches to film and digital media technologies at every level of need and knowledge; Community Engagement & Collaboration: We connect communities, local and international, as both a leader and a partner with artists, educators, schools, and community groups; Equal Access: We actively remove barriers that can prevent access to our programs by offering programs with free and affordable tuition, free and low-cost admission to events, and work trade/volunteer/internships opportunities. We are the only nonprofit in Western NY with an inclusive roster of education, equipment access, and exhibition programming dedicated to film and digital media arts.

Bio:
Maiko Tanaka is the new Executive Director of Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Maiko graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD University) in 2006 with a BFA, and completed her Masters of Visual Studies at the University of Toronto in 2013.

Maiko has made significant contributions to the Canadian arts ecology and beyond. She has worked as a curator for prestigious and widely recognized not-for-profit arts institutions in Canada and abroad, including one of the first artist-run centres, and oldest media arts centre in Canada, Trinity Square Video, the culturally diverse arts organization, Gendai Gallery, Nuit Blanche at OCAD University, the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (now the Art Museum at the University of Toronto), InterAccess – an artist-run-centre for electronic media art, as well as the internationally recognized Casco – Office for Art, Design, and Theory in Utrecht, The Netherlands where she has co-curated the three-year research, residency, exhibition and touring project “The Grand Domestic Revolution (GDR)”. As a writer, Maiko has contributed to deepening the conversation about art in Canada through her work in leading magazines such as Fuse and C Magazine, the latter of which she serves on the editorial advisory, and she has co-edited publications including The Grand Domestic Revolution Handbook published by Casco and Valiz, and Model Minority, published by Gendai Gallery and Publication Studio.