Georgia Tech

Jason Freeman is the Associate Vice Provost for the Arts and a Professor of Music at Georgia Tech. His artistic practice and scholarly research focus on using technology to engage diverse audiences in collaborative, experimental, and accessible musical experiences. He also develops educational interventions in K-12 and university environments that broaden and increase engagement in STEM disciplines through authentic integrations of music and computing. His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, exhibited at ACM SIGGRAPH, published by Universal Edition, broadcast on public radio’s Performance Today, and commissioned through support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Freeman’s wide-ranging work has attracted support from sources such as the National Science Foundation, Google, and Turbulence. It has been disseminated through over 100 refereed book chapters, journal articles, and conference publications. At Georgia Tech, Freeman previously chaired the School of Music, chaired the Georgia Tech Arts Council, organized the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, and served as executive director of ensemble-in-residence Sonic Generator. Freeman received his B.A. in music from Yale University and his M.A. and D.M.A. in composition from Columbia University.

Avital Shira is the Director of Arts Integration and Innovation for Georgia Tech Arts. She is also a lecturer in the School of Literature, Media, and Communications at Georgia Tech, the Director of Strategy and Engagement for Creative Re/Frame, and the Strategic Director for IDEA Con, the largest student innovation and entrepreneurship conference in New England. Previously, Avital taught at Tufts University and Boston University. She also led community engagement strategy in Colorado for the Markle Foundation’s Skillful initiative and spent six years traveling the United States, directing and assistant directing in cities all around the country. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and was named Best Director at the 2012 Portland Outdoor Shakespeare Festival for her production of Twelfth Night. Avital graduated from the MFA Directing and Arts Administration certificate programs at Boston University and holds a degree in Theatre Studies and English literature from Yale University.

Heidi Boisvert is the inaugural chair of the new School of Arts, Entertainment, and Creative Technologies, ushering in a new era of creative innovation and interdisciplinary education.

As chair, Boisvert leads the School’s vision for preparing students to shape the future of creative industries while fostering collaboration across disciplines. Her approach emphasizes ethical innovation, immersive technologies, and creative experimentation, reflecting Georgia Tech’s commitment to advancing education and research at the intersection of arts and technology.

Boisvert is an interdisciplinary artist, experience designer, creative technologist, and academic researcher who interrogates the neurobiological and socio-cultural effects of media and technology.

She founded futurePerfect lab, a creative agency and think-tank that works with social justice organizations to design playful emerging media campaigns to transform the public imagination. She also co-founded XTH, a company creating novel modes of expression through biotechnology and the human body. She worked with David Byrne on Theater of the Mind, an immersive theater piece and co-curated EdgeCut, a live performance series that explores human-digital relationships.

Boisvert joins Georgia Tech from the University of Florida, where she was Associate Professor of AI & the Arts, a Senior Research Fellow at the Norman Lear Center, a research affiliate in the Open Documentary Lab at MIT, and a member of NEW INC’s Creative Science track.

She studies the role of the body, the senses, and emotion in human perception and social change. Boisvert is mapping the world’s first media genome, while taking great care with its far-reaching ethical implications.

Her work has been showcased at venues including EMPAC, New York Live Arts, Banff, the New Museum, Los Angeles Music Center and Waag, and featured in TIME, Wired, Fast Company, The Atlantic, NPR, and The New York Times.

Kailey Albus is the Student Support Specialist at Georgia Tech Arts and serves as the Emerging Creatives Lead at the Georgia Tech. The Emerging Creatives Lead submits nominations for students from this institution to attend the a2ru Emerging Creatives Student Summit. Please contact this Lead with an email, subject line: Emerging Creatives interest.