Kelly Egan
Assistant Professor Kelly Egan
BA (Carleton), MA (York/Ryerson), MFA (Bard), PhD (York/Ryerson)
kellyegan@trentu.ca
Traill College, Scott House 203
705-748-1011 ext. 6042
Dr. Kelly Egan is an Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies specializing in visual and media studies. Kelly is a Canadian filmmaker, animated sound composer, film archivist and scholar. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Carleton University (2001), Master of Arts in Communication and Culture at York/Ryerson University (2003), Master of Fine Arts in Film/Video at Bard College (2006), a Certificate in Film Preservation from the Selznick School of Film Preservation at the George Eastman House (2012), and a PhD in Communication and Culture from the York/Ryerson Joint Graduate Programme in Communication and Culture (2013).
Her filmwork explores issues of materiality, intermediality, and media obsolescence. Her films have been screened at major festivals across Canada and internationally, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the Images Festival, the New York International Film Festival, the Rotterdam, International Film Festival and EXiS Experimental Film and Video Festival. Her film-based installations have been exhibited at the York Quays Gallery/Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, and L’espace virtuel in Chicoutimi, PQ.
She approaches both creative and critical work as a media archaeologist, combining critical histories and material analyses by considering the story of a medium outside of its hierarchal, canonical and linear history. Her research centers on dead media, not just those that endure, because they can illustrate an alternative history outside of dominant narratives, and allow us to reimagine new relationships between technology and artistic practices. Her dissertation “The Projector’s Noises: A Media Archaeology of Cinema Through the Film Projector” (2013) explores how twentieth century artists critically engaged with the film projector’s noises at moments of technological transition, and how this engagement challenges the dominant structures of the cinematic apparatus by drawing attention to the liveness and performativity of the cinematic event.
Kelly has taught at Ryerson University, Trent University, Millennium Film in NYC, the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT), and the Independent Filmmakers Cooperative of Ottawa (IFCO). She has also served on the Board of Directors of LIFT, on the Canadian Selection Committee for the Images Festival in Toronto, and continues to develop new programs with the Loop Collective (Toronto) and the Lost Dominion Screening Collective (Ottawa).
Kelly received the Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018, recognizing the innovative character and effectiveness of her pedagogy.