Annina Ruest (also spelled Annina Rüst) is a Swiss artist-inventor and associate professor at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

. She is known for her work in

new media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of new media, electronic media technology, technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video g ...

including

software art Software art is a work of art where the creation of software, or concepts from software, play an important role; for example software applications which were created by artists and which were intended as artworks. As an artistic discipline software ...

and electronics-based art. Her works often focus on political issues within tech

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

, including

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

representation and online privacy.

Biography

Ruest attended

Zurich University of the Arts Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK, german: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) has approximately 2,500 students, which makes it the largest arts university in Switzerland. The university was established in 2007, following the merger between Zurich' ...

, graduating with a Diploma in Visual Communications with New Media Emphasis in 2003. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

in 2006 and a Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 2008. In 2009 she joined the Department of Transmedia at Syracuse University where she was a tenured Associate Professor. In 2017 she left Syracuse University to join the Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University.

Selected works

Ruest began working as a software artist while attending Zurich University of the Arts, independently and as a member of the software art collective LAN. Her more recent work has integrated electronics including eRiceCooker and Discotrope: The Secret Life of Solar Cells, a collaboration with Amy Alexander. Her works often focus on the role of gender in tech culture, including Be Counted, A Piece of the Pie Chart.,, Bad Mother / Good Mother. and Pac-Mom: A game about gender, work, and food insecurity

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruest, Annina Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Swiss women artists Swiss digital artists Women digital artists Swiss contemporary artists