Minka Stoyanova

Assistant Teaching Professor, Becker School of Design/Tech

Minka Stoyanova draws on cyborg theory to investigate the real and speculative effects of technology in society. Her current research explores the augmentation of urban space through the use of multi-media, interactive technologies and highlights the place-based histories of marginalized communities.

She holds an MFA from The Glasgow School of Art and a PhD in Creative Media from the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong. Dr. Stoyanova is an alumna of the Fulbright research program and, most recently, was an NSF Computing Innovation Fellow. She has also applied her specific cyborg theory to peer-reviewed papers on social media performance, contemporary art, maker culture, and to a book chapter on cosplay.

A philsopher-maker, Dr. Stoyanova has also presented artwork, and artist talks in a variety of national and international venues including the Xi’an Museum of Contemporary Art (China), Clockenflap Music Festival (Hong Kong), Transmediale (Berlin), and the International Symposium of Electronic Art.

Degrees

  • Ph.D. in Creative Media, City University Hong Kong, 2019
  • M.F.A. in Studio Art Practice, Glasgow School of Art, 2012
  • B.S. in Applied Computing Systems, Tulane University, 2010
  • B.A. in Studio Photography, University of New Orleans, 2009

Affiliated Department

Becker School of Design & Technology

Scholarly and creative works

  • Papers Published – Conference Proceedings

    The use of emerging digital technologies in Architectural heritage sites in southern Italy: state of the field
    ISEA2025 Conference Proceedings

    International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art (ISEA)
    Seoul, Korea
    May 2025
    2025
    Naomi R. Pitamber, Minka T Stoyanova
  • Other Scholarly or Creative Work

    CMACD Fall/Winter Student Exhibition

    T Ulm, Ezra Cove, Scott T Niemi, Minka T Stoyanova
  • Chapters In Books

    Sartorial Fandom: Fashion, Beauty Culture, and Identity
    Chapter: Wigs, Corsets, Cosmetics, and Instagram: The Prosthetics of Crossplay

    Published by University of Michigan Press
    2023
    Minka T Stoyanova
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Smart Materials, Future Cities: Potential for Sustainable Ambient Urban Informatics

    Published in Visual Communication Quarterly
    2022
    Vol. 29
    Issue #2
    Scott Hessels, Minka T Stoyanova
  • Presentations

    Discovering Urban Pasts: Activating archival material with site-specific urban media installation

    International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA)
    Barcelona, Spain
    June
    2022
    Minka T Stoyanova
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Performing the cyborg self: explicit and implicit examples of body hacking the distributed self

    Published in International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media
    2021
    Vol. 17
    Issue #2
    Minka Stoyanova
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Abstract of: The Art of Cyborgs: A Techno-Social Approach to Contemporary Culture

    Published in Leonardo
    2021
    Minka Stoyanova
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Top-Rated LABS Abstracts 2020

    Published in Leonardo
    2021
    Vol. 54
    Issue #5
    Sheila Pinkel, Teresa Marie Connors, Varvara Guljajeva, Marlene DD Mathew, Carlos N\’obrega, Minka Stoyanova, Carloalberto Treccani
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Performing Hypo-Linguistics

    Published in Technoetic Arts
    2018
    Vol. 16
    Issue #1
    Minka Stoyanova, Lisa Park SoYoung
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Reading makers: Locating Criticality in DIY and “Maker” Approaches

    Published in Digital Culture & Society
    2017
    Vol. 3
    Issue #1
    Minka Stoyanova
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    CASH RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME: Reading the Recuperation of Hip-hop through Rancière’s Political Aesthetics and Attali’s Distinguishing of Signal and Noise

    Published in Usage guidelines
    2016
    Minka Stoyanova, Ariel Huang
  • Papers Published – Conference Proceedings

    How to Catch a Cloud
    Proceedings of the 2015 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Creativity and Cognition

    2015
    Minka Stoyanova

Awards and grants

  • Faculty Development Award

    Clark University

  • Activating Urban Space through Interactive and Augmented Reality Interfaces

    National Science Foundation, Computing Research Association, Computing Innovation Fellow

    clock icon Jan. 1, 2021 – Dec. 31, 2022