On Sunday, August 30, 2026 Ali Santana (@boombaye) completed his three-week New Media residency with us!

Ali Santana is a multidisciplinary artist from Brooklyn, NY, who draws inspiration from community, nature, ritual, ancient technology and Hip Hop culture. His work combines time-based media, rhythmic storytelling and emerging technology to create immersive experiences that explore history, identity and Black abstract improvisational traditions. Santana currently works across video, sound, sculpture, live performance and installation.

Ali has exhibited at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam’s (IDFA) DocLab, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) and Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. Santana has performed at Brooklyn Museum, Mana Contemporary and Roulette Intermedium.

Ali is faculty at NYU Tisch’s Interactive Telecommunications Program/Interactive Media Arts Program and recognized for educational collaborations with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Apple Inc. He’s a member of Onassis ONX Studio and The Santana Project, a family of artists spanning generations and disciplines.

During his time with the iea, Ali reviewed and edited 16mm archival film footage, mixing projections, and created the soundtrack for his ‘Black Man with a Movie Camera’ project. Ali said the following about his residency:

“This residency allowed me the time and resources to experiment with different techniques and resume projects that have been on hold. I made use of dedicated studio time to experiment and explore new processes. I originally came with the intention of creating video art but wound up doing so much more including creating an accompanying soundtrack, collaging and working with both digital and analog printmaking processes.”

If you missed Ali’s artist talk, you can view it and others on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@theinstituteforelectronica5746.

Work sample by Ali Santana made during his iea residency.