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Work and Education
Kristen Palana is an American multimedia artist based in Rome, Italy. She is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Department at The American University of Rome. Kristen also has taught in the Art Department at William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ. as well as in the DAA Department at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.
Kristen received her MFA (with Distinction) from Pratt Institute in Digital Arts and Animation and also holds a BFA (with Distinction) in Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, MA.
Traveling and volunteering in developing countries rank among her biggest interests. Kristen originally comes from Swansea, Massachusetts.
Current Projects
Kristen just finished a Fine Art Animation called Larry and Roz in May of 2008. It's currently being submitted to international film and animation festivals and has already been accepted into several. Kristen also recently had an Independent Animation course accepted to the program for SiggraphAsia 2008. She will co-present it in Singapore in Decemeber 2008.
In May 2007 Kristen traveled to Liberia where she shot footage for the UN's World Food Programme. She recently created short videos and photos for their website .
In 2007 her animation End Child Hunger was chosen by the World Food Programme to be part of their official Campaign. This animation was also recently chosen to be republished on the U.S. Department of State E-Journal and the transcript was translated into French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Portuguese.
Aura's House, is an ongoing web project Kristen founded in 2004. The site raises money for housing, health, and education projects for needy families in Central and South America, Asia, and Africa. Donations are 100% US. Tax Deductible. Check out the most recent projects.
Recent Projects
In 2006 her documentary Lucky, about an Indian American girl's arranged marriage, won a Director's Citation Award at the 2006 Black Maria Film Festival. View the trailer. See her Exhibitions List for the full list of screenings.
Kristen also has done work for The B-52's Official Website as well as overhauled the five websites of the College of Arts and Communication at William Paterson University with help from her students.In 2005, Kristen spent time teaching at the Maua Hills Vocational Training Centre in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. She helped set up an art, music, and computer program to enable locals to learn marketable skills.
Kristen co-presented a course at SIGGRAPH 2004 in Los Angeles entitled, "There Can Still Be Only One. Independent Animation Production for the Lonely." The first course was presented in San Diego at Siggraph 2003. Read a review.
Other recent projects include Yellow Ribbons, a 30-second multimedia political ad for MoveOn.org now featured in their online exhibit. In 2003 her fine art animation, Five O'Clock Shadows ran the film festival circuit. In March 2003 Kristen participated in an online exhibit, Art on the Net, sponsored by the Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts Tokyo.
