SAIC Alums Turn Cyberpunk into Cyberpink and Attract Major Media Attention

SAIC students frequently create projects that envision the world as it could be, a task the School facilitates with its commitment to diversity. In this same vein, SAIC graduates Gabriella Hileman (BFA 2015) and Violet Forest (MFA 2016), along with creative partner May Waver, received attention from the Guardian for their Cybertwee series, “a deconstruction of cyberpunk, coupled with a nod to ‘twee’ music, which in the 1980s and 1990s acted as a ‘soft'” backlash against the sneering, aggressive tones of punk.”

Blending together fantasy and sharp edges, Cybertwee addresses how the tech field treats feminine presences and envisions a more utopian possibility. “We wanted to write our own characters into the narratives of the future, that we could relate to as femme individuals, and to fully engage with the skills needed to make that kind of future a reality,” says Hilleman.