Academic Profile
Dr Wolfgang Muench is an academic leader, educator, and media artist whose work sits at the intersection of artistic innovation, digital transformation, and institutional strategy. He currently holds the position of Dean, Learning, Teaching & Research at LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore. His media art practice and research engages cybernetics, post-humanism, and AI, and is internationally recognised through exhibitions, publications, presnetations, and invited contributions. In his current role, he plays a central role in shaping institutional pedagogical and research environments in response to emerging epistemological shifts in tertiary arts education. His international profile includes collaborations with leading art institutions, scholars, and artists. In 2017, he received his PhD in Theatre, Film and Media Studies from the University of Vienna.
Teaching & Disciplinary Expertise
Dr Muench has provided academic leadership in interactive and media arts education since 1996. His teaching portfolio spans foundational to advanced levels across institutions in Europe and Asia, including roles at Merz Academy Stuttgart and the Hong Kong Art Centre / The Art School, delivering courses in media design, interactive systems, and software development. Since 2003, he has held senior academic positions at LASALLE, including Senior Lecturer in Interactive Art, Programme Leader for Media Arts, and served in key academic leadership roles since 2004, including founding Dean of the Faculty of Media Arts and founding Dean of Learning, Teaching & Research. He has developed pioneering curricula, advanced practice-led research cultures, and contributed extensively to academic governance and institutional development.
Research & Artistic Practice
Dr Muench’s research addresses the socio-cultural, technological, and epistemological impacts of media systems, with a particular focus on cybernetics, human-computer environments, and post-humanist frameworks. His research is grounded in practice-led methodologies and shaped by a sustained international artistic practice. Notable works such as Bubbles and Small Fish have been presented in over 50 international exhibitions and festivals across Europe, North America, and Asia, with Bubbles included in the ZKM Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe / Museum of Contemporary Art permanent collection since 2003. His academic writing, including peer-reviewed publications in Routledge and Leonardo (MIT Press), explores the intersections of interactive systems and artistic knowledge production in posthuman environment, and the implications of generative AI for research, pedagogical environments, and epistemic frameworks.
Artistic & Professional Experience
Dr Muench worked at the ZKM as a software designer and project manager across the Institutes of Visual Media, Music and Acoustics, and Network Development. His work focused on the development of offline and online media art projects and immersive digital environments. At ZKM, he contributed to seminal media art projects, including the Panoramic Navigator Visitor Information System and the artintact and digital art edition series of hybrid book–CD-ROM publictaions. He was also involved in collaborative industry-facing initiatives with DaimlerChrysler and Nokia.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0507-1540