TROY, N.Y. -- The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, recently announced the appointment of Ash Bulayev as its new curator for dance and theater.

From the early 1990s, in New York City, Bulayev has active in the theater and dance community as an artist, administrator, activist, and producer. For the past 10 years he has worked as an independent curator and producer with a broad range of European institutions at the cross section of performing arts, new media, and research in collaborative processes.

"EMPAC is singular within the American cultural landscape because of its unique existence as a breeding ground for experimentation," Bulayev said in supplied material. "It is a place where there is room for risks -- an institution with an eye for evolution in and across artistic disciplines. It is truly an honor to join the team and to imagine together what the upcoming seasons may look like."

From 2002-2011, Bulayev was the artistic director of amorphy.org, a collaborative umbrella for experiments in the fusion of performing arts and old/new media. In 2006-07, he was the project initiator and research director for the EU Culture 2000 funded project i-MAP (Integration of Media and Performance) in collaboration with leading media arts organizations in the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, and Bulgaria.

In 2007-08, he was the programming consultant for PALLAS, one of the largest performing arts venues in Greece, bringing artists such as Diamanda Galas, Hotel Pro Forma, and Jan Fabre. In 2009-10 he co-commissioned CO-OS Platform, a global network of alternative financial models for creative and artistic production funded by UK Arts Council.

"Over the first decade of planning and moving EMPAC to its current unique platform for performing arts, media, and research, Rensselaer was fortunate to have had a strong curatorial team that shaped and established EMPAC's program in such an outstanding way," Johannes Goebel, director of EMPAC, said in supplied material. Hélène Lesterlin, EMPAC's founding dance and theater curator, departed at the end of 2011 to return to a freelance career as artist and curator.

"Now that the founding generation of curators has moved on to new frontiers, we at EMPAC are enthusiastic that Ash Bulavev joins our team with his vast and varied experience," Goebel said. "EMPAC values colleagues that can bridge different cultures, be they artistic or technical, regional, national or international, of different colors, different preferences, or different delights. We are excited to welcome Ash's ideas and skills to move us forward."

Outside the arts sector, Bulayev was a project-based creative director for advertising and design firms in Europe and the US. He holds an MA in theater from DasArts, an internationally acclaimed graduate program from the Amsterdam School of the Arts.

EMPAC is located at 110 8th St. For information visit empac.rpi.edu