Stefani Byrd’s art practice includes video, new media, and interactive technologies. Byrd’s early work addressed social justice issues in the form of interactive temporary public art installations that created role reversal, or “empathy training,” experiences for the audience. Her current work focuses on creating psychologically charged immersive media environments addressing topics such as digital feminism, gun violence, and how technology impacts empathy in digitally mediated spaces. Their practice aims to shed light on the complicated nature of communication and emotional fluency in a networked culture where imbalanced power structures continue to shape our interactions. Often her work confronts or undermines these systems by turning the tables on traditional power relationships.

Byrd received a BFA degree in Photography from Georgia State University. They hold a Masters Degree in Visual Art from the University of California San Diego. Byrd is currently Assistant Professor of Experimental Media in the Film Studies Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She previously served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Experimental Media Art at the University of Arkansas. They are a former Lecturer in the Digital Arts division of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California Irvine and the Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts (ICAM) major in the Visual Arts department at the University of California San Diego.