Curriculum Vitae

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Braden Perryman

Master of Fine Arts, Creative Technologies

Design Research PhD Candidate

Graduate Assistant for the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology

Researcher at the Virginia Tech Center for Design Research

Adjunct Instructor, Virginia Tech School of Visual Arts

Exhibitions Manager for Bird Block Studios

Awards and Fellowships

Benjamin C. Johnson Award for Graduate Design Excellence (spring 2022)

Jessie Matthews Memorial Award (spring 2021)

Christine C. Sayres Memorial Scholarship (spring 2020)

Mavis C. Pitman Exhibition Fellowship (spring 2019)

Rice University President’s Honor Roll (2017-2021)

Public Art Projects

Code to Creation

Public art installation for the Branch Museum of Design in Richmond, Virginia. Design and fabrication are underway with installation planned in March 2027. Project funded via grants.

Role: Co-Primary Investigator, lead designer

Funding applied for and received: $22,000

The Gate of Knowledge

Public art installation for the Graduate Life Center at Virginia Tech. Design and fabrication are underway with installation planned in August 2027. Project funded via private donors.

Role: Fabrication detail specialist, fundraising, material procurement, logistics

Funding applied for and received: $100,000

Emergence

Public art installation in Alexandria, VA, installed in February 2025. Project funded via grants.

Role: Primary Investigator, lead designer

Funding applied for and received: $10,000

Building Ecology: Examining Space-Place Dynamics in a Shared Indoor Environment

Public art installation at the Creativity and Innovation District Living Learning Community in Blacksburg, Virginia. Design and prototyping are underway with anticipated installation beginning January 2027.

Role: Designer

Funding received from NSF grant: $10,000

Gallery and Museum Exhibitions

Made in VA Biennial 2026

Juried group exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

Other Places Art Fair (OPAF)

Juried group exhibition at Angel’s Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro, CA (September 2025)

bird bonk

popup group exhibition at Bird Block Gallery and Ceramic Studio, Blacksburg (November 2024)

are we the universe falling in love with itself?

Solo exhibition at Miller off Main St. Galleries, Blacksburg (April - May 2024)

ICAT: Open (at the) Source

Group exhibition at the Virginia Tech Center for the Arts (spring 2024)

The Space We Have

Group exhibition at the Virginia Tech Media Building (fall 2023)

ON/OFF

Temporary sculpture garden and group exhibition at Rice University (fall 2020)

Other Places Art Fair (OPAF)

group exhibition at Angel’s Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro, CA (fall 2021)

REHABIT

group exhibition at Rice University (spring 2021)

SUPERHEAVY

collaborative multimedia exhibition at the Shepherd School of Music (2021)

Lisa Lapinski & Gareth Long’s Joint Exhibition

group exhibition at Jonathan Hopson Gallery in Houston, Texas (January 2020)

Rice University Provost’s Office Gallery

group exhibition at Rice University's Provost’s Office (fall 2019-spring 2020)

Rice 56 Student Exhibit

group exhibition at Rice University (April-May 2019)

Rice Architecture and Arts Student Exhibit

group exhibition at Rice University (April 2020)

Rice Architecture and Arts Student Exhibit

group exhibition at Rice University (April 2019)

Education and Skills

Graduate Education

Virginia Tech (2025-ongoing)

Ph.D. in Architecture and Design Research

Dissertation topic: A Design Framework for the Geometric Rationalization and Digital Manufacture of Thin Folded Plate Freeform Structures

Virginia Tech (2021-2025)

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Technologies

Thesis topic: Envisioning Sustainable Futures through Biomimicry and Parametric Design

Undergraduate Education

Rice University (2017-2021)

Bachelor of Art in Visual and Dramatic Arts (studio art concentration)

Bachelor of Art in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations

Bachelor of Art in Sociology

minor in Anthropology

Software Proficiency

CAD/CAM Software: Rhino+Grasshopper, AutoCAD, Fusion360, VCarve, Carbide Create.

Adobe Creative Cloud: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro

Blender (architectural rendering)

QGIS (spatial data analysis)

Microsoft Office Suite: Word, PowerPoint, Excel

Hardware Proficiency

Operating CNC machinery such as CNC laser cutters, CNC plasma cutters, CNC routers, CNC mills, and 3D printers, some experience with 6-axis arms.

Woodworking with hand and electric carpentry tools, saws, drills, planers, lathes, etc.

Metalworking with sheet metal bending and folding equipment, as well as plasma cutting, welding, and angle grinding equipment.

Casting – concrete and plaster casting, ceramic slip casting, designing and creating two-part silicone molds, alginate molds, and rigid multipart 3D printed molds for casting.

Silkscreen printing and printmaking equipment, including printing press operation.

Operating audio and video capture equipment, projectors, and speakers.

Research Experience

Graduate Research Assistant with the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT)

(fall 2025-ongoing)

I am working on several projects for ICAT including the design and fabrication of projector hardware for the Cube (a state-of-the-art immersive audiovisual space at Virginia Tech), as well as the design and installation of a suspended public sculpture for the Creativity and Innovation District Living Learning Community (CID LLC) as part of the NSF-funded project Building Ecology: Examining Space-Place Dynamics in a Shared Indoor Environment. This public sculpture will be a 1:1 visual representation of lidar data collected by Flack and Baird et al., an interdisciplinary research team using LiDAR data to map the movement and “collisions” (moments where two individuals stop and talk to each other) of people in the common spaces of large public buildings. LiDAR data has been collected for three years from the first floor of the CID LLC and currently exists as point clouds and tracks in QGIS. I have created a novel pipeline from QGIS to Grasshopper that allows the use of QGIS kernel density analysis to remap the relative density of movement and collisions in space to z-vector values to create a “3D topology” representing the density of movement and collision data. We are using these 3D topologies to inform the creation of a modular suspended sculpture that ties directly into the open-web steel trusses of the building. This project has involved extensive communication with structural engineers and fire safety experts from the Office of the University Building Official, as well as review from the Virginia Tech Public Art Council, and the Virginia Art and Architecture Review Board. This project is also creating a novel CAD to digital fabrication pipeline centered around thin folded-plate structures. Design team member: David Franusich, M.F.A., multimedia designer at ICAT.

Co-Principal Investigator and Lead Designer for Code to Creation, an ICAT-funded grant

(fall 2025-ongoing)

Applied for and received $22,000 in funding from Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) to create a large public sculpture for the Branch Museum of Design in Richmond, a nonprofit institution that sees thousands of visitors every year and has an online following of over 25,000 people across all platforms. This project aligns with my dissertation research into creating parametric paneling systems for freeform surfaces, as well as integrating the design of these paneling systems with computer aided manufacturing using both 3- and 6-axis Computer Numerical Control (CNC) systems. We are working primarily with cutting and folding aluminum sheet material that is .050” thick, and despite how thin the sheet metal is, the resulting prototypes we have made demonstrate an impressive strength-to-weight ratio induced by the folding and fastening of the material that increases structural depth and thus stiffness. I am collaborating with fellow Co-PI and Doctoral Candidate Yasaman Ashjazadeh to create an integrated workflow between the digital twin of the sculpture in Rhino+Grasshopper and Unity where we leverage Augmented Reality (AR)-assisted assembly of sculpture components to make the assembly stage more efficient. We are currently designing and prototyping these systems, with onsite installation planned for March 2027. Team members: Dr. Ramtin Haghnazar (Architecture), Dr. Alireza Shojaei (Building Construction), and Design Research PhD Candidate Yasaman Ashjazadeh.

Designer and Fabrication Specialist for The Gate of Knowledge, a donor-funded public art project

(fall 2026-ongoing)

Applied for and received $100,000 in funding from a donor fund created by the Graduate Life Center (GLC) at Virginia Tech to create a public sculpture to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the GLC. There was a competitive selection process where our team’s response to the GLC’s issued Request for Proposals was selected out of twelve applicants. This project is in the early stages where we are sourcing and specifying materials as well as prototyping the structural system. We are working closely with the Division of Facilities (Non-Capital Construction), the Office of the University Building Official, the Virginia Tech Public Art Council, and the Virginia Art and Architecture Review Board to create a public artwork that is structurally safe and aesthetically pleasing. Team members: Dr. Ramtin Haghnazar (Team Lead, Architecture), Dr. Alex Brand (Materials Science), Professor Kevin Jones (Architecture), and Design Research PhD Candidate Yasaman Ashjazadeh.

Principal Investigator and Lead Designer for Emergence, a Public Artwork for Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria, Virginia

(fall 2024-spring 2025)

Applied for and received $10,000 in funding from Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) to create a large public sculpture for Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria. I designed the sculpture parametrically, using Rhino+Grasshopper to create dimensional construction documents, specify materials, and estimate material costs. After JBG Smith cleared the sculpture as meeting compliance with the City of Alexandria’s safety codes, we procured materials and hired 10 student employees to begin fabrication using the Creativity and Innovation District Makerspace. We then transported the components and installed the large Corten steel sculpture outside of the Potomac Yard North Metro Station, adjacent to Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus by late February 2025. The sculpture weighs around 1,400 pounds and is held together by 3,500 hand-fastened bolts. We managed to complete the installation within 42 days of receiving funding. For the detailed project proposal, see the “innovation campus” section on my website

Special thanks to:

Trevor Finney

Rude Graves

Damon Brewer

Nylah Desnoyer

Elena Ahwee-Marrah

Burkley Lyons

Ben Knapp

David Baker

Clare Suess

Rodney Kimbangu

Holly Williams

Melissa Wyers

JBG Smith & Associates

Principal Investigator for Studio Playdate, a Virginia Tech Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) Student-Initiated Research Grant

(fall 2024-spring 2025)

Led an interdisciplinary team of graduate and undergraduate students to host a Design Sprint-style workshop for Virginia Tech School of Visual Arts students in the spring of 2025. Design Sprint workshops consist of student teams tasked with working together through the four phases of Design Thinking: understanding problems, brainstorming solutions, deciding practical pathways of action, and prototyping solutions to the original problem, all unfolding within a condensed period, typically lasting between 72 hours (about 3 days) and one week. Studio Playdate seeks to apply the fundamental principles of Design Sprints towards the unique challenges that artists face as members of transdisciplinary teams in professional settings – workshop challenges will concern questions of fittingness, aesthetics, and ethics, rather than solely functional problem-solving.

Our project team consisted of myself, our faculty sponsors Meaghan Dee, and Les Duffield, and:

Trevor Finney (MFA Creative Technologies)

Ben Hornyak (MFA Creative Technologies)

Nylah Desnoyer (Bachelor of Architecture)

Kathleen Bailey (Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience)

Burkley Lyons (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Art)

Principal Investigator for Weaving Weeds, a Virginia Tech Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) Student-Initiated Research Grant

(fall 2023 – spring 2024)

Initiated and led an interdisciplinary team of graduate students in a biofabrication research project seeking to harness the self-assembling intelligence of grass roots in the development of a novel biomaterial that actively sequesters carbon in its growth. Our overall goal was to collaborate with grass species in ways that were mutually beneficial rather than solely extractive, while my specific technical contributions included designing and 3D printing mold formwork and casting the grassroots into the mold forms. P.I. work involved grant writing and research, organizing and scheduling meetings, managing project specialists and project phases in adherence to overarching timelines, communicating with grant donors at the end-of-year Open at the Source exhibition, delivering project updates to representatives of ICAT, and photographically documenting and summarizing our findings in a final report.

Our project team consisted of myself, our faculty sponsor Dr. Shaun Rosier, and:

Chelsea Brighton-Smith, Master of Landscape Architecture (BS Environmental Horticulture)

Ben Hornyak, MFA Creative Technologies (BFA Studio Art: Sculpture)

Lois Nguyen, PhD Science and Technology Studies (MS STS, BS Landscape Architecture)

Thomas-Mark Peterson, Master of Architecture (BS Biology)

Maggie Webb, PhD Engineering Education / MS Civil Engineering (BS Mechanical Engineering)

Teaching Experience

Adjunct Instructor with the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech

(fall 2025-spring 2026)

Fall 2025: Co-taught one section of ART-1214: Principles of 3D Art & Design with Sarah Hammer.

Spring 2026: Co-taught one section of ART-1214: Principles of 3D Art & Design with Ben Hornyak.

Responsibilities: ART-1214 coursework involves introducing students to hand-building techniques and computer aided design (CAD) software. CAD coursework involves mesh-based soft modeling in Blender as well as parametric design in Fusion360. Workflows are designed to prepare students for 3D printing and CNC projects in upper-level courses such as Laser Cutting and Digital Crafting. Learning outcomes outside of specific creative techniques for first-year students include working collaboratively on creative projects in a studio environment, developing a body of references to artists, designers, and art historical movements, participating in insightful and respectful discourse in the context of critiques, and learning stewardship of shared spaces and tools.

Graduate Teaching Assistantship with the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech

(fall 2024 - spring 2025)

Fall 2024: Taught one section of ART-1214: Principles of 3D Art & Design as the Instructor of Record

Spring 2025: Taught one section of ART-1214: Principles of 3D Art & Design as the Instructor of Record



Summer Part-Time Instructional Faculty with the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech

(summer 2024)

I created curriculum for and taught the first offered section of ART-3984: Computer Aided Design in Rhino+Grasshopper, an upper-level art elective where students learned how to use the 3D modeling software Rhino and its parametric design plugin Grasshopper to create original artworks. Coursework involved producing scaled construction documents, learning command-based drafting in 2D and 3D, as well as producing scaled fabrication files (.dxf and .stl file types) appropriate for CNC technologies such as plasma cutters, laser cutters, and 3D printers. Students were asked to research professional artists, architects, and designers leveraging computer aided design alongside CNC technologies, and then identify specific design techniques and processes used by these professionals to riff from in the creation of their own final projects. Students enrolled from a variety of disciplines; including architecture, industrial design, creative technologies, and studio art.

Co-Instructor for COLL139: Hybrid Beings, Multiple Selves, an elective course at Rice University

(Spring 2022)

Co-taught a 1-credit hour elective course with fellow student Franklin Briones through Rice University’s College Course system. Course preparation involved research, curriculum design, assignment creation and grading, crafting and delivering lecture materials, and moderating class discussions.

Work Experience

Graduate Assistantship with the Virginia Tech Center for the Arts (CFA)

(fall 2023 - spring 2024)

Worked with the CFA Exhibitions team to install and deinstall the 2023-2024 season shows:

william cordova: can't stop, won't stop: tenets of southern alchemy

September 21-December 17, 2023

Laurie Steelink: Spirit Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot
September 21-December 17, 2023

Joe Kelley: I am gone, expanding

January 5-January 13, 2024

Messengers

Leslie Hewitt, Tarrah Krajnak, and Rodrigo Valenzuela

February 1-April 21, 2024

ICAT: Open (at the) Source

April 29-May 11, 2024

SOVA Senior Show

May 3-9, 2024

Assistantship responsibilities also involved archival work with Virginia Tech’s art collection. Work included digitizing the collection (locating, tagging, photographing, and entering works into an excel database with descriptive tags and location metadata), physically trawling 1200+ unique items in the collection, identifying work that was in dire need of conservation, and managing art loans - packing, handling, and installing artwork - for Virginia Tech administrative offices.

Graduate Assistantship with Virginia Tech’s Landscape Architecture Community Engagement Lab

(fall 2021 - spring 2022)

Worked with Dr. C.L. Bohannon on a range of projects for the community engagement lab, including building a website to showcase community engagement projects, editing press release videos, and grant research and writing for equipment and travel funding for an oral history and community revitalization project with Wrightsville, a historically Black town in rural southwest Virginia whose growth was negatively impacted by the construction of state highway construction projects in the 1960’s and 70’s that used imminent domain to level neighborhoods and bisect their once-vibrant downtown. Responsibilities also included assembling a database of resources for the landscape architecture program’s future pro-bono design charrettes and highlighting student work from past design charrettes.

Graduate Assistantship with Virginia Tech’s Schools of Architecture & Design Communications Team

(fall 2022)

Worked with Professor Aki Ishida on a range of projects for the Schools of Architecture and Design communications team, including moderating the VT A+D YouTube channel, showcasing thesis work, studio culture, and collaborative class projects through photography and videography, as well as filming, editing, and uploading the fall 2022 A+D faculty and guest lecture series, and A+D foundations lecture series, which included the following speakers:

Isaac Alejandro Mangual-Martinez

Miranda Shugars

Bill Green

Archie Lee Coates IV (PLAYLAB)

Marcia Feuerstein, Jodi La Coe, and Paola Zellner Bassett

Steven and Cathi House

Lydia Kallipoliti

Tatiana Bilbao

Ruth Mandl (CO Adaptive)

Chris Pritchett

Fabrication Specialist at Fine Concrete

(summer 2022)

Assisted in the fabrication of custom concrete molds for landscape design applications, involving measuring and mixing UHPC (Ductal) concrete, modifying mold formwork to meet design specifications, as well as demolding and moving cast pieces. Gained experience finishing, fitting, and polishing cast concrete elements, as well as creating casting molds to design specifications, and learned to operate industrial equipment including a crane and forklift.

Studio Art Assistant with Rice University Department of Visual Arts

(summer 2019 - spring 2021)

Assisted artist and professor Lisa Lapinski in preparing for upcoming group and solo shows, including her twenty-year retrospective at the University of Texas Visual Arts Center. Aided in planning, shipping, and packing for upcoming shows, as well as creating to-scale miniature maquettes for gallery spaces and sculptures. Work also included fabricating sculptures; including slip casting, laser cutting, woodworking, researching and hiring contractors, as well as finishing, installing, and photographing sculptural elements in gallery spaces and sculpture gardens.


Service Experience / Curatorial Experience

Committee Member for the Graduate Life Center 20th Anniversary Public Art Project

(fall 2025-spring 2026)

Served as a committee member for the planning phase of the GLC 20th anniversary public art project, which involves strategic planning, fundraising, and coordination with University Facilities. We are also implementing a community charrette seeking feedback from faculty, current graduate students, and alumni from graduate programs, which we will use to craft a request for proposals. We will then be tasked with reviewing these proposals and selecting a finalist. I have offered my unique insight into the timeline and process of how public art projects function, as well as various design considerations involving the sculpture itself as well as the landscape design surrounding it.

Student Committee Member for Rice University’ Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts

Helped to select the next Department Chair, Bruce Hainley (2021)

Helped to inform the creation of Rice’s new Visual and Dramatic Arts building, Sarofim Hall (2020)

Lead Curator – bird bonk

(fall 2024)

Applied for and received funding from Virginia Tech’s School of Visual Arts for our opening reception, maintained community ties to secure an exhibition space at a local gallery and ceramic studio in Blacksburg (Bird Block), created and disseminated promotional materials, organized the exhibition of 13 graduate and undergraduate artists’ work, coordinated live performances with two local bands and a local legendary DJ, and installed, deinstalled, and handled artwork.

Co-Curator – The Space We Have

(fall 2023)

Worked with lead curator Sarah Hammer to curate a group exhibition for Virginia Tech’s Master of Fine Arts students. Curatorial work included communicating with participants and the public, creating and disseminating promotional materials, specifying necessary installation equipment, and contributing to a collaborative, site-specific artwork installation created specifically for this show.

Lead Curator – ON/OFF

(fall 2020)

Coordinated and executed a weeklong outdoor sculpture garden show and scavenger hunt with virtual components including livestreams, social media posts, and 360-degree video for hybrid/remote student access during opening and closing receptions. Created a project proposal and budget, applied for and secured funding from Rice University’s department of Visual and Dramatic Arts, worked with campus health & safety to ensure events complied with university COVID-19 protocol.

Other Experience

Installation Technician - Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing

(November 2019)

Worked with a team of students and faculty over several days to (re)create Sol LeWitt’s wall drawing 869A at Rice’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies in accordance with instructions left posthumously by Sol Lewitt and overseen by his estate.



Conservation Student at the Balkan Heritage Field School

(summer 2018, summer 2019)

Summer 2019: Learned physical and chemical conservation techniques for restoring corroded copper, bronze, and iron artifacts such as those found in underwater archaeological sites and shipwrecks at a weeklong workshop in Zakynthos, Greece.

Summer 2018: Worked for three weeks to document and conserve ancient Roman mosaics in-situ at the Theodosian-era palace at the archaeological site of Stobi, Macedonia, using historically accurate materials and processes. These mosaics are being restored in preparation for a publicly accessible exhibition for visitors to the site.

Volunteer Experience

Volunteer for the Virginia Tech Landscape Architecture Annual Dick Gibbons Charrette

(fall 2021, spring 2022, fall 2022)

Offered pro-bono design work envisioning redesigns for public open space in the towns of Danville, VA, and Stuart, VA. Worked with faculty as well as graduate and undergraduate students to generate preliminary programming and site analysis diagrams and landscape design renders useful to these towns in applying for grant funding to revitalize their parks and public spaces.

Volunteer with Houston Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA)

(fall 2019)

Undertook grant and fundraising research for a nonprofit organization serving disadvantaged Houston Latinx youth through providing afterschool theater, music, and visual arts programming. Responsibilities included organizing and preparing for board meetings, staffing the front desk and phone lines, and interacting directly with community members to answer questions and register students.

Volunteer Client Advocate at the Texas Innocence Network

(summer 2018)

Provided pro-bono legal services for convicted death-row inmates for the Texas Innocence Network through the University of Houston’s Law Center, which entailed examining law enforcement evidence files and transcripts of court proceedings and compiling these findings to inform and assist with the creation of amicus curiae briefs used to appeal for retrials. This work involved cold-call-interviewing jurors who served on conviction trials to assess their perceptions of whether our clients’ defense attorneys offered adequate legal services, whether jurors felt any pressure by law enforcement to deliver a guilty verdict. Texas currently executes more people annually than any other state in the US

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Structural Design