Symposium Spotlight: Shihan Zhang

Interviewed on February 21, 2026.

Who are you and where are you located?
Shihan Zhang, San Francisco, CA

When did you first start working with time based/ Interactive Media?
I began working with interactive media in 2017, using technologies as materials for future storytelling. Since then, interactivity has become central to my practice, not simply as a technical medium, but as a way to immerse audiences inside speculative worlds and invite them to actively negotiate possible futures rather than passively observe them.

What inspires your work?
My work is inspired by nature, scientific research, and diverse cultural perspectives across the world. I am particularly drawn to ecological systems, biotechnology, AI, and the ways different societies imagine their futures.

As a speculative designer, I look at science not only as knowledge but as narrative material. I am inspired by the tension between technological acceleration and planetary fragility, and by the question of how design might cultivate more inclusive, more-than-human futures.

Tell us a little more about your work for the symposium?
At the Symposium, I will be exhibiting Econut, a speculative food station that transforms invasive species into snack products as a playful yet critical reflection on ecological imbalance, food systems, and human intervention.

I will also host a hands-on workshop, "Design a Resilient Future with More-than-human agency", that invites participants to rethink ecological responsibility through speculative prototyping, and give a talk on "BioEconomic futures", exploring how design fiction and immersive media can help us rehearse ethical decisions about climate, biotechnology, and AI before they fully materialize.

Together, these formats create multiple entry points into the same question: how can design help us imagine and prototype resilient ecological futures?

Do you have any current projects that you're working on that you would like to share?
I am currently developing The Department of Species Services (DSS), a speculative project exploring AI, ecology, and the future of work. As AI evolves beyond simple assistance tools, while facing criticism for energy consumption and job displacement, DSS imagines a different trajectory.

Imagining a possible future where people work for bees, rivers, and forests—designing solutions that prioritize ecosystems over corporations or governments.

DSS will be exhibited at Gray Area in San Francsico this April. Through performance, installation, and interactive systems, DSS invites audiences to rehearse a Neo-Gaian labor model, asking what work might look like if structured around ecological coexistence rather than economic extraction.

What brought you to the New Media Caucus?
I am drawn to its commitment to experimental media, ecological discourse, and forward-thinking dialogue. My work exists between speculative design, interactive systems, and performative installation, and I value being in conversation with a community that understands media art not just as technology, but as a critical cultural force shaping how we imagine time, agency, and collective futures.

Where can we follow your work?
https://www.shihanzhang.com/