InterAccess is pleased to announce Angelina Almanza as the 2024 winner of the InterAccess Media Arts Prize.  

Angelina Almanza holds a BFA in New Media from Toronto Metropolitan University.  Her work combines art and technology to create immersive experiences - blending music theory, visual art, design, storytelling, and creative coding around current themes of interest. This variety of techniques encourages "play" in her workflow - experimenting with mediums to explore their potential for subversion or exploitation while developing diverse production and fabrication skills. 

As the 2024 prize winner, Almanza will receive an exhibition opportunity at InterAccess, opening January 2025.  

We would also like to congratulate the following prize finalists: Wrynn Geswin, Alexandra V. Tarassova, Nara Wrigglesworth, & Ziwei Zhao. 

Wrynn Geswin 

Wrynn Geswin is a Mexican-Canadian multidisciplinary artist who works primarily with new media, photographic arts, sculpture, engineering, and design. She was born in Mexico City but carries her practice in Toronto, Ontario. Her works focus on the inconsistencies of the corporate world we inhabit as well as the exploration of gender identity through new media. Geswin holds a BFA in Integrated Media from OCAD University.  

Alexandra V. Tarassova 

Alexandra V. Tarassova, more commonly known as Sasha, attended York University for her undergraduate degree in Digital Media Game Arts – despite the best efforts of fate. Formally trained in visual arts before pivoting towards video games, she has participated in several projects in her hometown of Markham, including the "Awakening" art exhibition at FLATO Markham Theatre and the Hart House Instamural. Never far from a pencil and paper, she believes that the act of creation is an inherent part of being human and enjoys dabbling in any medium she can get her hands on; from 3D printing computer accessories to needle felting horses, she lives by a "try everything at least once" mentality. 

Nara Wrigglesworth 

Nara Wrigglesworth is a programmer, artist, and student living in Tkaronto. Nara’s artistic practice focuses on moving image works as a medium to explore methods of orientation in a post-digital setting, offering inquiry into how contemporary perspectives of temporality might be transformed by digital means. Across all her work there is a strong grounding in DIY methods of generation and distribution, valuing the potential of artistic methods of inquiry to destabilize neocolonial hierarchies. Wrigglesworth attended the University of Toronto’s Visual Studies program at the Daniels Faculty.  

Ziwei Zhao  

Zhao Ziwei is a 3D artist specializing in CG animation, mixed reality, virtual reality, augmented reality, and digital art. His practice aims to integrate traditional mythology into profound philosophical themes through modern digital expression, uniquely through deconstruction and reconstruction. Zhao's creations use advanced technologies such as physical simulation, cloth simulation, dynamic graphics, and character animation to bring a strong visual impact to the audience. Most of his works incorporate different digital technologies, such as various 3D production software including Blender, Marvelous Designer, Daz 3D, Unreal Engine 5, Houdini, etc., or interactive digital production software such as TouchDesigner and 8th Wall. His greatest passion and ultimate goal is to perfectly blend Eastern and Western aesthetics and philosophies and present them in a visually pleasing way. Zhao studied in the Integrated Digital program at the School of Image Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University. 

Prize finalists will be featured in a public presentation of their practice between January – February 2025.  

ABOUT THE INTERACCESS MEDIA ARTS PRIZE 

For over twenty years the InterAccess Media Arts Prize has been granted annually to a graduating student whose work exhibits excellence and innovation in new media practice. Participating colleges and universities are invited to nominate one graduating student to be considered for a solo exhibition in InterAccess's gallery. Nominations are adjudicated by InterAccess's Programming Committee, who select one nominee for an exhibition at InterAccess. All nominees receive a complimentary one-year studio membership to InterAccess.