Photo by Laura Swanson

Rosa Sungjoo Park

Rosa Sungjoo Park is a media artist and sound designer whose research centers on the physicality of sound, psychoacoustics, algorithmic composition, experimental film and sound, and expanded cinema. Her creative practice is deeply grounded in cultural identity, memory, and religion, with a particular focus on Korean traditional rituals, shamanism, acoustic memory, and the nature of life and death. Park’s work has been exhibited and performed internationally in galleries, theaters, and conferences across the United States, Canada, Austria, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. Selected venues include the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), Berkeley Art Center, the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Kala Art Gallery, the House of Music and Music Theatre (MUMUTH), the Asia Digital Art & Design Association Conference (ADADA), LG Art Center, the Charlotte New Music Festival, and the Wrong Biennale, among others.

She has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the San Francisco State University Research and Scholarly Activity (RSCA) Awards, the Provost’s Pre-Tenure Award, the Marcus Early Career Research Award, and the RSCA Recovery Award. Her work has also been recognized with the Best Use of Sound Award at the 27th International Community for Auditory Display, as well as the Best MFA Thesis Project Award and Best MFA Written Thesis Award from the Rhode Island School of Design. Park is also the recipient of the Kala Art Institute Media Arts Residency Award, the Kala Art Institute Media Arts Fellowship, the GlogauAIR Art Residency in Berlin, and the MFA Fellowship Award from RISD. In film, Park completed the sound design for the feature documentary “80 Years Later (2022),” directed by Celine Parreñas Shimizu, which has received thirteen film festival awards, including the Cannes World Film Festival. She recently completed sound design for “Of Color and Ink (2023),” directed by Weimin Zhang, and “So to Speak (2024),” directed by Celine Parreñas Shimizu.

Park holds master’s degrees in Digital + Media (DM) from Rhode Island School of Design, Interdisciplinary Studies (Visual Arts) from the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and Visual Communication Design from Seoul National University. She has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and Florida Atlantic University in the United States, as well as Sahmyook University and Dong Seoul University in South Korea. She is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University, where she teaches Experimental Filmmaking, Sound Production for Cinema, Experimental Sound for Film, and Interactive Cinema.

Honors and Awards

  • Early Tenure & Promotion, San Francisco State University, 2024

  • The Provost’s Pre-Tenure Award, San Francisco State University, 2024

  • 2023-24 SF State Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity Fund, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Small Grant, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), San Francisco State University, 2024

  • 2022-23 SF State Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity (RSCA) Award, the Development of Research and Creativity (DRC) Grant, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), San Francisco State University, 2023

  • GlogauAIR Residency Berlin, Germany, 2023

  • 2022-2023 Kala Art Institute Media Arts Award Fellowship, Kala Art Gallery (Berkeley, CA), 2023

  • Nominated for the Fleishhacker Foundation’s 2023-2025 Eureka Fellowship Program for Visual Artists, 2022

  • The Marcus Early Career Research Award (Pre-Tenure Sabbatical), The College of Liberal & Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, 2022

  • LCA Extraordinary Ideas Grants, The College of Liberal & Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, 2022

  • The LCA RSCA (Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities) Recovery Award funded by the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), The College of Liberal & Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, 2022

  • SF State Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM) Initiative Award, The Center for Equity & Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL), San Francisco State University, 2022

  • Best Use of Sound Award (Concert Piece), The International Community for Auditory Display (ICAD), 2021

  • The Kala Media Arts Residency (Honorable Mention), Kala Art Institute (Berkeley, CA), 2021

  • High Impact Quality Learning and Teaching (HI-QLT) Course Redesign Project Funds, Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL), San Francisco State University, 2020

  • SF State Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM) Initiative Award, San Francisco State University, AVP Academic Affairs Operations, 2019

  • Best MFA Thesis Project Award, Digital + Media, Rhode Island School of Design, 2016

  • Best MFA Written Thesis Award, Digital + Media, Rhode Island School of Design, 2016

  • MFA Fellowship Award (Two-year), Rhode Island School of Design, 2014 - 2016

  • Graduate Student Research Award, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2013

    Graduate Student Travel Grant, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2013

  • University Graduate Fellowship (UGF) Award, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2013

  • International Graduate Entrance Scholarship, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2012

  • Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Dean’s Award, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2012

  • BK21 PLUS (Brain Korea 21 Program for Leading Universities & Students) Research Fund, Seoul National University, 2006 - 2008