SPEAKING + PRESS
I enjoy speaking about my creative practice - creating narratives in space, mapping emotional journeys, art in odd places, and what happened behind the scenes. I craft my talks the same way I craft my art pieces - with a narrative arc, unexpected emotions, and a bit of humor.
I've been a featured speaker and panelist at multiple conferences focused on art, design, and technology, in addition to engagements at universities and corporate events. For potential bookings, please reach out at hello [at] aprilsoetarman.com
Select Talks:
- Panelist, Software for Artists Day #8, New York, 2023
- Panelist, Themed Entertainment Association SATE Conference, online, 2021
- Speaker, This Immersive Globe: The Series, online, 2021
- Panelist, TWIML Fest, online, 2020, “How Artistic Practices Can Adopt Machine Learning”
- Speaker, 100s Under 100 at A/D/O, New York, 2019
- Artist Talk, Living Room Light Exchange, New York, 2019
- Artist Talk, Stink Labs, New York, 2019
- Featured Speaker, Techfest Club & CivicWomen, New York, 2018, “Evoking Emotions Through Technology”
- Artist Talk, Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Carnegie Mellon University, 2018
- Featured Speaker, SF Tech Poetics, December 2017
- Speaker, Best of Ignite Seattle 2017, “Weird Side Projects”
- Speaker, EYEO Ignite 2017, Minneapolis, "Weird Side Projects"
- Speaker, Seattle Ignite 2017, "Why I Make Weird Side Projects"
- Keynote Speaker, Bend Design Con 2016, “A Working Theory of Delight: Sound, Space, and Emotion in Design"
- Panelist, Google Design for Education 2015, “Design Thinking for Education”
Previous workshops have included Intro to Sound Design, Developing an Artist Portfolio, Documenting Your Work, Intro to Making Physical Objects
Highlights:
“Why I Make Weird Side Projects” at Ignite Seattle 2017, also given at EYEO and encored as a Best of Ignite Seattle (5 minutes)
SF Tech Poetics at Github, San Francisco December 2017 (18 minutes)
Select Press:
- Enjoy A Quiet Moment of Contemplation with ‘The End of the Day’ (Review), No Proscenium, December 2020
- NoPro Critic’s Picks for 2020, No Proscenium, December 2020
- ATTENTION: Public Warning Signs by April Soetarman Engage the Emotions of Unsuspecting Pedestrians, Colossal, November 2018
- Modified Street Signs That Display Unexpected Thoughtful Messages of Random Kindness, Laughing Squid, November 2018
- A Museum of Almost-Real Pasts, Presents, and Futures, KUOW Public Radio, Sept 2018
- April’s Almost Realities, Bushwick Junction, May 2018
- A Seattle artist shows you the ‘life you might have had’ at her Museum of Almost Realities, The Evergrey, April 2018
- The Sign Says You 'Deserve Every Happiness', KNKX Public Radio, April 201
- Meet the artist posting mysterious signs around Seattle, The Evergrey, August 2017
- Meet the Seattle artist behind these mysterious signs, King5 News, August 2017
- Interview with April Soetarman, PHLEARN, May 2017
Exhibitions/Performances:
- Porch Scenes from Across the Space-Time Continuum (reading), Primary Stages/59E59 Theaters, NYC, 2023
- The End of the Day, CultureHub Re-Fest, NYC & Los Angeles, 2022
- Cosmic Cherry Arts Festival, NYC, 2022
- The End of the Day, online, 2020
- Alter/Altar, Shadow Traffic, NYC, 2019
- The Department of Emotional Labor, Underland, San Francisco, 2019 (solo)
- Hello Goodbye Viaduct Arts Festival, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle, 2019
- The Museum of Almost Realities, Boombox, Chicago, 2018 (solo)
- The Museum of Almost Realities, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 2018
- The Museum of Almost Realities, School for Poetic Computation, NYC, 2017
chimeforest, Seattle Center Sculpture Walk, Seattle, 2017
- PROTOSTELLAR, Hybrid Space, Seattle, 2017
- 30+ guerrilla installations in Minneapolis, Berkeley, Seattle, Chicago, NYC, 2015 - Present
Awards and Recognition:
- IxDA Interaction Awards Finalist, 2021
- This Immersive Globe/Epic Immersive grant, 2021
- Awesome Foundation Seattle grant, 2018
- Kickstarter Projects We Love, 2018
- Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Public Artist Roster, 2017-20
- Best of Ignite Seattle, 2017
- NBBJ Innovation Award, 2016
- Bakewell Brown Prize for Architectural Drawing, 2012
- UC Berkeley Musical Theater Prize, Honorable Mention, 2012
Residencies and Programs:
- Echoes Writers Group at Primary Stages, NYC, 2022-23
- Epic Immersive Underland Residency, San Francisco, 2019
- New York Immersive Challenge, 2019
- School for Poetic Computation, NYC, 2017
- Seattle Public Arts Bootcamp, 2017
- Creative Collision, Domaine de Boisbuchet, France, 2016
- Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2012