Erik Conrad’s work investigates the relationship between the sensate body and individual/collective experiences and understandings of space. Through interactive and site specific works, he asks participants to both question and contemplate their sensory experience. These thoughts are expressed in a series of experimental spaces, garments/costumes, and experiences that challenge our understanding of the senses (and their interconnectedness) and playfully question the impact of technology on understanding everyday space. His works exploring the relationship between gesture and vision, as well as mobile tactile displays and other tactile arts, have been presented and exhibited internationally, including the establishment of a small Tactilist Theatre at the Bumpkin Island Art Encampment [Boston Harbor Islands, Berwick Research Institute and Studio Soto]; Pixilerations [v. 5] and [v. 6], Providence, RI; ImageRadio: Interactive experiments in public space [MAD Emergent Arts Center, Eindhoven, Netherlands]; Responsive Architectures [Subtle Technologies, Toronto]; SIGGRAPH; What Matter(s)? [Critical Digital, Harvard GSD]; CHI 2006, Journees de la culture [Place des Arts' Hall des Pas perdus, Montreal]; Hybrid Vigor [Beall Center for Art and Technology, Irvine, CA]; and the International Symposium for Wearable Computing (ISWC), among others.

Conrad’s education includes a M.S. Information and Computer Science from the University of California Irvine’s Arts, Computation and Engineering (ACE) program, M.S. Information Design and Technology (IDT) from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a B.A. Visual and Performing Arts in Imaging and Digital Arts from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, with a minor in 19th and 20th century Art History. He has subsequently taught programming, electronics and interactive art and design at several institutions, including the Rhode Island School of Design, Concordia University, University of California Irvine, and University of Maryland Baltimore County. Conrad is concurrently a PhD student at the Topological Media Lab in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Study, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.