About Me
Dr. Michelle Stewart is a lecturer in Digital Arts, UKZN, Pietermaritzburg. She holds a Masters Degree in Fine Arts and Art History and a PhD in animation studies. Her research interests straddle both traditional and new media creative processes, in particular traditional painting and drawing media, experimental ‘fine art’ animation and installation. She has solo exhibitions and taken part in numerous group exhibitions in South Africa and abroad. Her experimental animated film “Big Man” has been screened on number of International film festivals (winning the the Best Animated Film Award at the Euro Kino Czech International Independent Film Festival)
Degrees Held
- Fine Art Diploma, Durban Institute of Technology, Durban
- Masters Degree, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg
- PhD, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg
Creative and Teaching Interests
- Art History and Art Theory
- Painting
- Drawing
- 2D Traditional Animation
- 2D Digital Animation
- Experimental Film
- Digital Art History and Theory
- Digital Painting and Drawing
- Digital Art Installation
- “Women’s Images of Men” Group Exhibition, NSA Art Gallery, 1994
- “Pietermaritzburg Arts Festival”, Group Exhibition, PMB Colonial Building, 1995
- “The Natal Biennale: The art work of Natal”, Group Exhibition, Tatham Art Gallery, 1996
- Solo Exhibition, The Bartel Arts Trust Center, Durban, 1996
- “15 Graduates”, Group Exhibition, Jack Heath Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg, 1998
- “An exhibition of work by University of Natal female graduates”, Group Exhibition, Jack Heath Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg, 1998
- “The Right to Celebrate”, Group Exhibition, 58th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Durban Art gallery, Durban, 1999
- Stage projections (Digital Drawings) for Greig Coetzee’s award winning play, ‘Johnny Boskak is Feeling Funny’, The production was staged nationally and internationally, notably at the ‘Grahamstown Arts Festival, South Africa, and the Edinburgh Festival, UK, 2004
- Stage projections and an oil painting for the production, “Jacky Hangman Three” (Peter Stewart), The Hilton Arts Festival, Hilton, South Africa, 2004
- “The Natal Biennale: The art work of Natal”, Group Exhibition, Tatham Art Gallery, in Pietermaritzburg, 2004
- “CVA Group Exhibition”, Bay Side Gallery, Durban, 2005
- “Five Artists, Five Directions”, Group Exhibition, KZNSA Gallery, Durban, 2005; http://www.artsmart.co.za/visual/archive/2385.html http://www.artsmart.co.za/visual/archive/2416.html
- “CVA Group Exhibition”, Carnegie Art Gallery in New Castle, 2007
- “15 Graduates Exhibition”, Jack Heath Art Gallery, 2008, Press release can be seen at: http://www.artsmart.co.za/visual/archive/95.html
- “Contemporary reflections” Group Exhibition, Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg, 2009
- “Jabulisa: The Art of KwaZulu-Natal”, Group Exhibition, Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg, 2010
- “South African Fine Artists”, Group Exhibition, St Paul’s Boys’ School, London, 2010
- “CVA staff exhibition”, William Humphries art Gallery, Kimberly, 2010
- “Images in Print”, Group Exhibition, Durban Art Gallery, Durban, 2012
- “A History of the Centre for Visual Arts”, Group Exhibition, Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg, 2015
- Film “Big Man”, “Durban International Film Festival”, KZNSA, Durban, 2017
- Film “Big Man” “Euro-Kino International Film Festival”, Prague, 2017
- Film “Big Man”, Manifesto Film Festival”, Amsterdam, 2018
- Digital art installation “Big Man”. 24th International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2018, June 23-30 2018, Durban, South Africa.
- Stewart, M. “The Artist as Visionary”: Joseph Beuys and Jackson Hlongwani, Diss, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1994
- Stewart, M. Academic Proceedings of the 20th SAVAH conference SAVAH conference: “Digital animation at the Centre for Visual Arts”, Durban, 2005
- Stewart, M. “Big Man: An animated film with an accompanying analysis of its relationship to the theory and practice of art and animation”, Diss, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2015
- Stewart, M. Academic Proceedings of the 30th SAVAH conference: “The Iconography of Power”, Durban, 2015
- Stewart, M. The importance of Traditional Animation processes in the digital era”, Seminar proceedings, Durban International Film Festival, 2017
- Stewart, M. “Experimental Animation, Hybridsation and the Digital Platform”. Academic proceedings of the 24th International Symposium on Electronic Art, ISEA2018, Durban, South Africa (June 2018): 208-213.
- Stewart, M. “The Big Man as Fictional Archetype: William Kentridge and Robert Hodgins”, De Arte Feb, Vol 54: 7-43, 2019, 10.1080/00043389.2018.1558535: https://doi.org/10.1080/00043389.2018.1558535 .
Awards and Honours
- Film “Big Man” Best Animation, “Euro-Kino International Film Festival”, Prague, 2017
- Film “Big Man” Short Film Festival Kalmthout, Belgium, Nominated Laurel, 2017
- Film “Big Man” International Film Festival, Beveren, Belgium, Nominated Laurel, 2017
- Film “Big Man” Short Film Festival, Kalmthout, Belgium, Nominated Laurel, 2017
- Best Teaching Portfolio Award, School of Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2017
- Best Creative Contribution Award, School of Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2017
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Merit Award, 2008
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Leap Award, 2010
Supervision
I have supervised over 30 Honours and MA students with diverse research areas – ranging from the exploration of traditional art history, animation practice and theory to New Media art history and practice.
External Examining
- 2009: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, MA Theory of Animation exam
- 2010: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, MA practice and dissertation)
- 2010: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, MA Theory of Animation exam
- 2011: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, M dissertation
- 2012: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, MA Theory of Animation exam
- 2013: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, MA dissertation
- 2013: Durban University of Technology – Fine Arts (MA exhibition and dissertation)
- 2014: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, MA Theory of Animation exam
- 2015: Open Window School of the moving image – Honours exam
- 2015: Panel Reviewer, PhD Candidate, University of Witwatersrand
- 2016: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, MA Theory of Animation exam
- 2016: Open Window School of the moving image – Honours exam
- 2017: AFDA – Third year animation review.
- 2017: Durban University of Technology – Fine Arts MA (2) dissertations
- 2019: Durban University of Technology – Fine Arts MA (2) dissertations
- 2019: University of Witwatersrand – School of Digital Arts, MA dissertation