Dr. Aaron McKain, M.S.L.
Post-Digital
Public Health
research | art installations
civic ed & engagement
Millions are suffering in an unprecedented
mental health, chronic illness, and disability epidemic.
So me and my teams -- of disabled and discounted students, artists, and citizens --
are fighting to give everyone a voice and a fighting chance.
“In Two Voices: A Neuroscientist and Patient Tell Their Story.”
Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine.
August 2020
With Amanda Aherns and Stephen Pederson.
“The Art of EMF Science: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Post-Digital Health Advocacy.”
PostHuman: New Media Art 2020.
CICA Press: Seoul, South Korea: 2020
With Steven Pederson and
the Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy.“EMF Science and the Post-Fact Society: Models to Stop Disinformation.”
Drew University.
New Jersey: June 2018
“The Art of EMF Science: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Post-Digital Health Advocacy.”
Rhetoric of Health And Medicine Conference.
With Stephen Pedersen and Allison Baker. Online: October 2020
“Cellular Home Invasion: Public Art As Rhetorical Intervention in Scientific Debates On EMF Health Effects.”
Rhetoric Society of America.
With Allison Baker and the Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy. Portland, OR. May 2020. (COVID).
“Unsound Methods?”
Panel and Multimedia Performance. Rhetoric Society of America.
With Cory Holding, Matt Sumera, Josh Gumiela, Allison Baker, and the Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy.
Minneapolis, MN, May 2018
Sound Studies. Workshop.
Rhetoric Society of America Summer Institute.
Bloomington, IN. May 2017
“Cellular Home Invasion II.”
Solo Museum Exhibition. Gallery 610.
With Allision Baker. Menomonie, WI. April 2020
“Cellular Home Invasion.”
Solo International Museum Exhibition. Czong Institute for Contemporary Art
Seoul, South Korea. With the Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy. May 2019
“Feminist Aesthetic Criticism.”
Video Installation. Bad Video Art Festival
With Allison Baker. Moscow, Russia. July 2018
“The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy.”
Video Installation. Pop’s Movie Night.
With Allison Baker. Detroit, MI. August 2018
“Scientific Home Invasion.”Installation. Pop’s Packing.
With Allison Baker. Detroit, MI. June 2018
“Unsound Methods?”
Panel and Multimedia Performance
With Cory Holding, Matt Sumera, Josh Gumiela, and Allison Baker, Rhetoric Society of America,
Minneapolis, MN, May 2018
“How to Write a Poem that Costs You $175k Plus the Lady.”
Missouri Review.
Winner: 2017 Miller Audio Prize for Humor (Runner Up).“Sonance: An Interdisciplinary Discussion Concerning the Affects of Human Noise on Other Animals.”
Sound Performance and Art Residency. University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment.
With Josh Gumiela and Matt Sumera. Minneapolis, MN. November 2017
“dronesTruck: Operation Scarewaves.”
Grant Funded Art Installation.
Saint Paul, MN. October 2015
“dronesTruck.” Juried Multimedia Installation.
Hamline-Midway Arts Festival.
With Josh Gumiela. St. Paul, MN. June 2015
“Contaminated.”
International Juried Art Exhibition and Civic Forum
Minneapolis, MN and Online: May 2020
With the Institute for Digital Humanity and Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy.
“Medical Unreliability and Sick Girl Theory.”
Curated Cross-Cultural Art Exchange
St. Cloud Zine Fest. St. Cloud, MN. February 2020
With Allison Baker, the Institute for Digital Humanity, and the Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy.
“Sad Girls and Hopeful Women.”
Curated Cross-Cultural Art Exchange
Twin Cities Zine Fest. Minneapolis, MN. September 2020
With Allison Baker, the Institute for Digital Humanity, and the Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy.
“Hopeful Women.”Student Art Installation on Christian Feminism
Hamline University. Saint Paul, MN. Dec 2018
“World Press Freedom Day: What Do You Have to Say,”
Student Art Installation on Free Speech
Hamline University. Saint Paul, MN. April 2017
“Y2K16.”
Student Art Installation on Digital Ethics
Hamline University. Saint Paul, MN. December 2016
“dronesTruck: Operation Como.”
Student-Curated International Sound Art Exhibition
Saint Paul, MN. May 2016
“School Violence: An Interdisciplinary Approach.”
Student Art Installation on School Shootings
Hamline University. Saint Paul, MN. December 2015
So me and my teams -- of disabled and discounted students, artists, and citizens --
are fighting to give everyone a voice and a fighting chance.
Millions are suffering in an unprecedented
mental health, chronic illness, and disability epidemic.
Catalyzes civic engagement and curate under-served community voices by translating complex issues into easy-to-understand:
-
Local, national, and international art exhibitions and installations;
-
Academic research and publications;
-
Educational materials for attorneys, teachers; citizens, and advocates.
Our own body of work is motivated by the same goals that guide our exhibitions of other artists' work. We want to use aesthetic experiences as a means of engaging the general public with digital and biomedical harms that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye or too bogged down in esoteric jargon.
-
Ask a question
Change the text to include your own content. Adjust the font, size or scale to customize the style.
Some quick highlights of juried, award-winning, and/or grant funded
local, national, and international exhibits, installations, and community forums.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
& AESTHETIC ADVOCACY
Cellular Home Invasion
INTERNATIONAL SOLO EXHIBITION
Czong Museum for Contemporary Art
Seoul, South Korea. 2019.
With:
The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy,
Allison Baker, Steven Pedersen, Josh Gumiela, and Riley Miller.
INSTALLATIONS ON ENVIRONMENTAL ILLNESS & CAREGIVING
juried and grant funded solo and group shows
Franconia Sculpture Park (Shafer, MN; 2021)
Ely Center for Contemporary Art
(New Haven, CT; 2021)
934 Gallery (Columbus, Ohio; 2021)
Gallery 610 (Menomonie, WI; 2020)
Tugboat Gallery (Lincoln, NE; 2020)
Shelter in Place Gallery (Boston, MA; 2020)
Hallberg Center for the Arts
(Wyoming, MN; 2020)
NE Sculpture Gallery (Minneapolis, MN; 2019)
See all abstracts here.
All Bullets Shatter:
Crime and Trauma
Living Art Exhibition and Public Forum
Minneapolis, MN and Online. May 2022.
In partnership with:
Guns Down, Love Up I Protect MN
Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives
Urban Educators I North Suburban Center for the Arts I MN Second Change Coalition
and Faculty from Ohio State, Georgia State, Portland State, and Pittsburg Univ.
Plugging In:
Tech & Surveillance
COMMUNITY EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT EVENT
Minneapolis, MN and Online. October 2021
As with every other part of society, technology is changing public safety forever. The need to ensure basic principles of human and civil rights in the mechanisms of digital public safety has never been more pressing. The IAA and its partners participated in a public discussion and technology workshop focused on surveillance, privacy rights, racial justice, and digital ethics. The event was hosted on October 20, 2021.
In partnership with:
ACLU Minnesota I Reclaim the Block
The Institute for Digital Humanity I North Central Univ.
Safety Not Surveillance I Post ME I Tulane Valley Creates
Councilman Simon Troutman (Richfield, Minnesota)
Councilman Steve Fletcher (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Digital Rights are Civil Rights: Race and Tech
International juried art exhibition and civic forum.
Minneapolis, MN and online. February 2021.
The murder of George Floyd made it clear to the world that systemic racism is a life or death issue for people of color in our country. This issue has only become more pressing in light of recent technological developments: racist facial recognition software; predictive policing programs that target minorities; and discriminatory algorithms (in employment, healthcare, education, and criminal justice) that violate our privacy, threaten free speech, and replace human judgment with encoded systemic inequity.
Thank you to our partners;
ACLU MN; Native Youth Arts Collective; North Central University; the Institute for Digital Humanity; the POSTME Coalition; and City Councilman Steve Fletcher.
Digital Rights are Civil Rights: Race and Tech
INTERNATIONAL JURIED ART EXHIBITION & CIVIC FORUM
Minneapolis, MN and online. February 2021
In partnership with:
The Institute for Digital Humanity
The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy
ACLU Minnesota
Native Youth Arts Collective;
North Central University
Post ME Coalition
Councilman Steve Fletcher (Minneapolis, MN)
Contaminated:
Mental Illness & COVID
International juried exhibition & civic forum
Online and in Minneapolis
(At the height of the pandemic.)
May 2020
In partnership with:
The Institute for Digital Humanity
The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy
North Central University
Hamline University