Melvin Pather
Melvin Pather is an artist, graphic designer, animator and an all round technology driven individual. He has a wealth of experience from working in various industries such as higher education, publishing, advertising, fashion and media amongst others. He has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art from the Durban University of Technology and studied for further qualifications in Graphic Design, Animation, Arts Administration and Internet of Things (IoT) Development. Melvin recently graduated with a Postgraduate in Higher Education Studies and is currently completing a Master's Degree in Education at UCT's School of Education.
He is actively involved in New Media and developing the use of technology as a preferred medium to create art. Melvin has lectured at various private colleges in Durban and Johannesburg and has now assumed the role of Chief Technical: New Media at the University of Cape Town. He is a Mandela Washington Fellow as well as SAB Top 100 Youth Entrepreneur. He has received numerous awards and is continually researching creative emerging technologies.
Currently at Michaelis he instructs students across New Media in aspects of Augmented Reality, Videography, Animation, Design, Digital Illustration, Digital Fabrication and Sound Art. He has also introduced 3D printing and Robotics projects at Michaelis and aims to further establish virtual reality and digital fabrication methods at the Fine Art department.
Some of his portfolio links are:
http://pathermelvin.wix.com/melvin-pather-poe
https://www.deviantart.com/ultra-mel
AWARDS
2019. African App Launchpad Program Scholarship (AAL). Awarded a scholarship to study a Virtual Reality Nanodegree funded by the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
2019. Mandela Washington Fellowship. Selected as one of 700 from the continent of Africa to be based in the United States for an academic exchange programme at an American University. Melvin was based at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.
2018. SAB Kickstart Ignite Top 100 Youth Entrepreneur. Selected from over 3500 submissions countrywide.
2017. Teaching with Technology Research Award. Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching.
2014. Extra Mile Lecturer's Award. Independent Institute of Education - Rosebank College.
CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPS/EXHIBITIONS
2023. Pandemic | Praxis | Pedagogy is a Michaelis School of Fine Art staff exhibition in preparation for a special edition journal issue for 2023/4 reflecting on the years 2020-2022 (Covid-19 pandemic). Melvin exhibited some of his artwork at the exhibition.
2022. University of Cape Town Teaching and Learning Conference. The purpose of this conference was to reflect, connect and envision a socially just teaching and learning environment at UCT. It has been an extraordinary two years for teaching and learning at UCT, including the COVID-19 pandemic that called for the rapid series of shifts from emergency remote teaching to physically distanced learning and hybrid learning.
2021. Adobe Education Summit. Celebrating creativity across the curriculum for educators in every subject area and grade level, as well as how to build skills for digital literacy, empower student learning experiences, and nurture the next generation of life-long creators.
2019. Revolt Masterclass. Invited to attend a workshop leveraging effective communication as a tool for diversity and inclusivity in collaboration with the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni and the US Embassy. American Corner, Central Library, Cape Town
2019. Under the Dome Experimental Film Festival. Selected to produce a 360 degree digital dome experimental film for the Iziko Planetarium in Cape Town. Film was titled "Artists' Spaces". Iziko Planetarium and Centre for Curating the Archive, Cape Town
2019. Teaching and Learning Seminar: Pedagogies in Context. Selected as a panelist to participate in an academic discussion about Learning and Teaching in Higher Education with a focus on improving as educators in a changing environment. UCT, Cape Town
2019. Young African Leaders Summit - Mandela Washington Fellows. Attended and participated in an international summit focused on finding solutions to Africa's greatest problems. Washington D.C (USA)
2018. Jetlag Inyathuko International Travelogue Series. Panel speaker discussing creatives and international travel. Cape Town
2018. China High Technology Conference & Fair. Digital Technology and new world developments. Shenzhen (China)
2018. SA Innovation Summit. The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Cape Town
2018. SAB Kickstart Ignite Top 100 Youth Entrepreneur Workshop. From concept to innovation. Johannesburg
2017. Autodesk University Conference. Artificial Intelligence and Automation is here. Cape Town
2017. Design NOW Virtual Conference. Experience the trends of technology. Johannesburg
2016. Apple for Education Workshop. Apple’s applications for student support and Augmented Reality. Cape Town
2016. Autodesk University Conference. The future of making things. Cape Town
2015. Apple for Education Workshop. Using Apple’s ecosystem to increase student’s creative output. Cape Town
2015. Shooting for Cinematic Virtual Reality Workshop. Introduction to creating for Virtual Reality. Cape Town
2012. Durban Film Festival Workshops. Cinematography and Direction. Durban
2011. Adobe Creative Cloud Workshop. New frontier in digital design. Durban
2010. Design Indaba. A better world through creativity. Cape Town
2007. Poetry Africa Workshop. Reading the performance. Durban
2006. RedEye Arts Workshop. Various talks about contemporary art. Durban
2005. Poetry Africa Workshop. Verses of Africa. Durban
2005. RedEye Arts Workshop. Various talks about contemporary art. Durban