Joana Burd

Joana Burd is an artist, researcher and assistant professor whose work investigates the entanglements between technology, sensory perception, and embodied experience. Her practice centers on haptic aesthetics, data sonification, and affective design, often employing touch, sound, and interactive media as critical tools for inquiry. She holds a Ph.D. in Advanced Studies in Artistic Productions from the University of Barcelona, awarded cum laude with International Mention. Her doctoral dissertation, Poetics of Vibration: Deployments of Technology in Contact with the Body as Affective Memory, examines how tactile interfaces and sonic environments shape memory, affect, and embodied knowledge.

Before joining IE University, Burd taught sculpture, audiovisual media, and sound art at the University of Barcelona, where she also held a pre-doctoral research fellowship (AGAUR-FI). She has led courses and workshops in Spain, Brazil, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States, with visiting research positions at institutions such as University College London (UCL) and the Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science and Technology (SBCAST/UCSB). Her international teaching experience reflects a strong commitment to transdisciplinary and practice-based learning. Her research has been presented at leading international conferences such as ISEA (Paris), SAR (Bauhaus), fPET (ZKM), and SiGRaDi (UIC, BCN), and published in journals including Leonardo (MIT Press), Multimodality & Society (SAGE), Adjacent Journal (NYU), as well as in edited volumes by Dykinson (Spain). Her artistic research embraces collaborative methodologies and is rooted in feminist, decolonial, and sensory approaches to digital art and pedagogy. 

Beyond academia, she also co-founded Acervo Independente, an award-winning cultural space in Porto Alegre Brazil that hosted exhibitions, artist residencies, and educational programs for emerging artists. Her current research interests include the politics of touch, speculative design, affective computing, and multimodal pedagogies. She continues to develop artistic and academic collaborations across Europe and Latin America, contributing to the advancement of inclusive, critical, and experimental practices in art and design education.

Academic Experience

• Assistant Professor, IE University, Spain, 2025 - Present

• Lecturer in Sculpture, Materials and Tecniques, University of Barcelona, Spain, 2024 - 2025

• Honorary Academic Researcher, University College London (UCL), UK, 2022 - 2023

• Visiting Researcher, SBCAST / UCSB (SBCAST - The Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science and Technology), USA, 2022

• Pre-doc Lecturer & Researcher (AGAUR-FI), Audiovisual, Haptic and Sound Art University of Barcelona, Spain, 2020 - 2023

Academic Background

• Ph.D. in Advanced Studies in Artistic Productions (cum laude, International Mention), University of Barcelona, Spain, 2025

• Master's in Visual Poetics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 2018

• Licentiate Degree in Visual Arts (Teaching Qualification), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 2014

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

4. Quality Education

5. Gender Equality

9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure