.: leafbit :. is a growing artifact of personal experiences, pursuits and pathways. They are mythical, musical, computational, logical, spiritual, indigenous, continuums, linkages, crossroads, dead ends, and some or all--or none of the above. These paths intersect in a complex web to contribute to understanding and the emergence of human patterns that span across all cultures, places, dimensions and time.
.: creator :. Lisa Tolentino is an experiential designer and doctoral student pursuing a Media Arts and Sciences PhD through the School of Arts, Media and Engineering (AME) at Arizona State University. She is a researcher in the Embodied and Mediated Learning Group, working closely with Coronado High School teachers and AME researchers to develop mediated environments for collaborative student learning in the classroom. Lisa currently investigates the role of these environments in special education for students with autism. She also approaches disability awareness through shifting lenses, examining the Western cultural term "disability" through art and performance, to expose and express it as a cultural tension that exists as a social construct, a human condition, and an embraceable way of being. Her work builds upon her practice in experimental music and contemporary percussion performance; her cultural work with underrepresented populations which include communities whose identities have been shaped around their disabilities; and her development of physical computing implements, instruments, and creativity tools that serve to stimulate and channel new dialog about interpersonal relationships.
Prior to ASU, she earned her BS in Computer Science and MA in Contemporary Percussion Performance from the University of California, San Diego. She has performed with the redfish bluefish percussion group under the direction of Steven Schick, and the Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble, performing indigenous Southern Philippine gong music. She plays regularly with Phoenix's premier contemporary music ensemble, Crossing 32nd Street, and with the Radio Healer project—a performance art project that utilizes multi-ethnic indigenous cultural practices that include music, dance, and electronic media arts expression.
.: contact :. lisa (dot) tolentino (at) gmail.com
- mediated experiences
- disability identity & SPED
- music and performance
- kulintang of the Philippines