Zach Poff is a New York area media artist, educator, and maker-of-things. His artwork is rooted in open systems that eschew individual authorship in favor of collaborative or generative models. His algorithmic remixes of popular media  uncover hidden subtexts lurking inside familiar forms (Radio Silence, Video Silence). Other recent work employs unique sound tools to explore the web of social and ecological relationships that challenge and sustain us (Pond Station, Sferics). He considers his art-making, teaching, and software development to be contributions toward a culture of sharing & empathy, in direct opposition to commercial media’s cult of the individual. In 2015 he received a commission from Wave Farm Transmission Arts in Acra NY, to create Pond Station, a long-term outdoor sculpture that live-streams the underwater sounds of a pond.

He currently teaches Sound Art at Cooper Union School of Art in NYC and leads workshops on “expanded” sound recording at UnionDocs, colleges, and arts organizations. He taught previously at Bennington College and Cooper Union Continuing Education. He has received fellowships from New York Foundation for the Arts, and Wave Farm. His work has been shown in the U.S. and internationally at venues including the 2013 Portland Biennial, ISEA 2008 (Singapore), Art Interactive, Artists Space, The Stonington Opera House, Hallwalls Art Center, Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art, and Polli Talu Art Center (Estonia). He received his BA from University of Maryland.