Mike Hansen
PhD, University of Guelph
Mike Hansen is a PhD student at the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation at the University of Guelph. He holds an MFA (2008) based in installation and sculpture focusing on sound and video from Toronto’s York University. For twenty-two years, he programmed and hosted a community radio program, ‘Why Not Jazz’, focused on improvised jazz and experimental music. For three years, he was a volunteer interviewer, researcher and host a cable television program, ‘Art Sync’ that examined Toronto’s contemporary visual art community.
Over the past thirty years, Mike has dedicated himself to the exploration of noise as a tool for artistic production. This is done through proprietary visual art and experimental music practices, which work hand in hand, often resulting in interactive installations. This relationship between experimental music and visual art has and continues to generate works that have been exhibited nationally (MOCCA, Art Gallery of York University, The Tree Museum, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Plug In ICA, Kenderdine Art Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Doris McCarthy Gallery, Art Gallery of Mississauga, The Centre for Art Tapes, NAISA, Art Gallery of Peterborough, The Art Gallery of Peel, and more) and internationally (Sao Paulo Cultural Centre – Galeria Vermelho, Sao Paulo, Brazil – Appetite Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina, -A Gentil Carioca Gallery, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Ace Gallery, Chicago – The University of Dundee, Scotland, King’s Hall, University of New Castle, England – Galerie Taksu, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).
