Meet our Staff

Matthew Bannister

Theory
Post Graduate

Personal Statement

Media Arts is an exciting place to do a degree because there is such a mixture of different kinds of people with different experiences in the arts. In my case I played in a Flying Nun band called Sneaky Feelings in the 1980s. Once I realised I wasn't really rock star material, I worked as a journalist and then did a PhD at Auckland University in Media Studies, writing about my music experience from a theoretical perspective. (I still write, play and record, but now I call it research! That's one of the cool things about this place.) So I have a lot of experience of being an artist, but I'm also aware of the need for artists to develop a broader understanding of what they do and the contexts in which they work.

I was appointed to help run the Master of Arts programme at Wintec, supervising students with their writing and theory, but I now also work with Honours students and convene the first year core theory paper, Word Image Sound. Our MA programme is exciting and unique in that it focuses on creating a practical outcome, but also reflecting on it critically. Last year (2005) all our MA students passed with distinction, which is no mean feat considering that the paper is examined externally. I hope to see some of you at Honours and Masters level in the future.