Born 1979, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand
Shannon Novak’s work aims to reduce anxiety, depression, and suicide rates for queer communities worldwide. He seeks to dismantle heteronormative structures and systems and build spaces that acknowledge, celebrate, and support diversity, equity, and inclusion in sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SROGIESC+). This manifests as socially engaged and collaborative painting, photography, installation, sculpture, and curatorial practice that often extends beyond traditional exhibition spaces. The work explores light and dark in the past, present, and future, but ultimately seeks to grow hope for a better world where queer communities can live without fear. Central to Novak's collaborative process is an attitude of respect and care. Key areas of focus in his work include queer activism, creating space for queer BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) communities, and illuminating, preserving, and increasing access to queer heritage.
Novak founded the Safe Space Alliance, a global LGBTQI+ led nonprofit organisation that aims to help people identify, navigate, and create safe spaces for LGBTQI+ communities. Museums and galleries have joined from around the world including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York City, New York, US), MCA Denver (Denver, Colorado, US), Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Massachusetts, US), Remai Modern (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada), and Museum of London (London, UK). Novak also founded Velebit, a project that aims to grow safety in relationships between queer communities and emerging technologies.
Novak has developed work for national and international institutions, festivals, and public spaces, including the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (Auckland, New Zealand), Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia), Ningbo Museum of Art (Ningbo, China), McKinney Avenue Contemporary (Dallas, Texas, US), and Georgia Museum of Art (Athens, Georgia, US).
Novak graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Applied Information Systems from the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, New Plymouth (New Zealand), and later gained a Master of Education (Hons) from Massey University, Palmerston North (New Zealand) in 2009. He then graduated with a Master of Fine Arts (Hons) from the University of Auckland (New Zealand) in 2014. Novak has completed a number of artist residencies, was the inaugural recipient of the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa Artist Partnership (New Zealand) in 2022, and has been engaged in public commissions in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.
Education
2014: Master of Fine Arts (Hons), Elam School of Fine Arts, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
2009: Master of Education (Hons), Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
2001: Bachelor of Applied Information Systems, Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) | Te Kura Matatini o Taranaki, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Selected exhibitions
2024
12 Nautical Miles, Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) | Te Kura Matatini o Taranaki, New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Kinship, St Paul’s Collegiate School, Hamilton, New Zealand (installation)
Random Acts, Te Ara I Whiti - The Lightpath, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
A Taste of Honey, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, US (group)
Aglow, various public spaces, Australia (multi-site installation)
The Chronicle of <a New Love Order>, The Engine Room, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand (group)
Give Light, Sylvia Park, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Dušo, Commercial Bay, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
2023
Do You Think You Could Love a Computer?, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand (installation)
Parthenogenesis, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand (installation)
Under the Spotlight, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, New Zealand (installation)
Te Haeata (Anew), Burnett Centre, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Amplify I, various public spaces, Auckland, New Zealand (multi-site installation)
Amplify II, various public spaces, Wellington, New Zealand (multi-site installation)
2022
The Unfurling, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand (collaborative installation with Pasha Clothier)
Volumes, Turnbull House, Wellington, New Zealand (installation)
The Blossoming, PwC Centre, Wellington, New Zealand (collaborative installation with Shawn Wimalaratne)
Bridge Between Worlds I, various public spaces, Auckland, New Zealand (multi-site installation)
Bridge Between Worlds II, various public spaces, Wellington, New Zealand (multi-site installation)
Hard Labour, New Plymouth Prison, New Plymouth, New Zealand (installation)
Polyvalent, WORLD, Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Looking Glass, FABRIC, Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
It’s OK to Be Me, University of Southern Queensland Art Gallery, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia (installation)
Move Together XI, LynnMall, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Move Together XII, Sylvia Park, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
2021
Make Visible: Queensland, The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10), Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (multi-site installation)
Biological Exuberance, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (installation)
Mānawatia Takatāpui/Defending Plurality, Tauranga Art Gallery (central work) and various public spaces (satellite works) including; The Historic Village, The Kollective, Bayfair, Baycourt. Tauranga, New Zealand (multi-site installation)
Cultivate, various public spaces in New Plymouth, New Zealand, including; New Plymouth Airport, New Plymouth Coastal Walkway, Centre City, and Johnson Corner (installation)
Shift (Move Together X), The Plaza, Palmerston North, New Zealand (installation)
Symplegma, Sarjeant Gallery (central work) and various public spaces (satellite works), Whanganui, New Zealand (installation)
Flow (Move Together IX), Sylvia Park, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Shelter (Move Together VII), LynnMall, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Move Together, Vero Centre, Auckland, New Zealand (multi-site installation)
Queering Spaces, The Ledward Centre, Brighton, UK (group)
2020
Therapeutic Agent, Puke Ariki, New Plymouth, New Zealand (solo)
Queer Algorithms, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
I Extend My Arms, Aotea Square, Auckland, New Zealand (collaborative installation with Jeff Nusz)
Parsing Binaries, JB Contemporary, Gisborne, New Zealand (two-person exhibition with Daniel Metcalfe)
2019
Sympathetic Resonance, The Suter Art Gallery, Nelson, New Zealand (group)
Alight, Central Business District, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Geometry of Thought, Pah Homestead, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Sub Rosa, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand (installation)
Modern People, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (group)
Headland Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, New Zealand (group)
17 Years, Anderson Rhodes Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand (solo)
2018
Wisteria, Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, New Zealand (installation)
Flight of the Magnolia, Te Tuhi, Auckland, New Zealand (collaborative installation with Jeff Nusz)
Unbounded, RAMP Gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand (solo)
Katherine Mansfield: A Portrait, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (group)
Conversion/Konvertieren, Altes Spital and Konzertsaal, Solothurn, Switzerland (solo)
Gordon, part of The Expanded Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand (installation)
Bound, Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Nexus, Pataka (central work) and various public spaces (satellite works), Wellington, New Zealand (installation)
Symphony, Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Counter Narratives, Wellington Waterfront, Wellington, New Zealand (group)
2017
Summer Show, Melanie Roger Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Pictures at an Exhibition, various locations in Wellington, New Zealand, including; Peter McLeavey Gallery, Michael Fowler Centre, and the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul (installation)
The Expanded Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery (central work) and various public spaces (satellite works), Dunedin, New Zealand (installation)
Greedy Algorithms, AfterMath Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand (group)
Chromatic Scale, Pah Homestead, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Notation -36.846269, 174.769166, Walker Wayland Centre, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Bicinium, various locations onsite, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Alberta, Canada (collaborative installation with Amy Brandon)
Headland Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, New Zealand (group)
2016
Leitmotif, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (solo)
Modulation, Courtenay Place Park, Wellington, New Zealand (installation)
Rhapsody, Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Garden Centennial, Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum, Pelham Bay Park, New York, US (group)
In the Country, MilkBar, Cotati, California, US (group)
Soft Architecture, Malcolm Smith Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Counterpoint, Joan James Harris Theatre, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, US (installation)
Cloaked Interludes, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, New Mexico, US (installation)
The Wall, Hurley Convergence Center, The University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia, US (group)
Intervals, various locations in Central Park, Manhattan, New York, US (installation)
Certainly Very Merry, Tim Melville Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
The Digital Pulse, The Great Wall of Oakland, Oakland, California, US (group)
2015
Deep Concinnity, Te Tuhi, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Listening Forms, NZME Building, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Chrysalis Lens: A Brief Survey of Contemporary Video Art, Marylyn and Chuck Klaus Center for the Arts, Marymount California University, Los Angeles, California, US (group)
Art and Science, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, New York, US (group)
Data Body as Artifact, Fukuoka International Congress Center, Fukuoka, Japan (group)
Disruption, Simon Fraser University, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Vancouver, Canada (group)
Solid Colour: Part I, Trish Clark Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Space/Cosmos, Pehrspace, Los Angeles, California, US (group)
Slingshot, West Gallery, Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens, Georgia, US; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia, US (group)
Headland Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, New Zealand (group)
2014
Cryptocosmos, Te Uru, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Activating Te Uru, Te Uru, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Con Sordina, Downtown Denver LED Screen, 14th and Arapahoe, Denver, Colorado, US (installation)
Six of One, 30 Upstairs, Wellington, New Zealand (group)
Refractor, Pehrspace, Los Angeles, California, US (group)
The Artifacts, Building 403, Governors Island, New York, US (group)
Organised Play, Audio Foundation, Auckland, New Zealand (solo)
Phantom City, Rotorua Museum, Rotorua, New Zealand (group)
A Short Crisp Sound: Futures Trading Co. (central work) and various public spaces (satellite works), Wellington, New Zealand (solo)
Synthetic Zero, BronxArtSpace, Bronx, New York, US (group)
Rubato: Museum of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, BIH; Roman Petrovic, Sarajevo, BIH; Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo, BIH (installation)
Sight Reading, part of Freedom Farmers: New Zealand Artists Growing Ideas, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Be the Light of My Lantern, George Fraser Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
2013
Freedom Farmers: New Zealand Artists Growing Ideas, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Pastorale, Sheep Meadow, Central Park, Manhattan, New York, US (installation)
Manhattan Phrase, Manhattan, New York, US (group)
Dazibao, (touring exhibition) Organhaus, Chongqing, China; and Ningbo Museum of Art, Ningbo, China (group)
Score Generators, Aotea Centre, Auckland, New Zealand (collaborative installation with Jeff Nusz)
Delegate, Ilam Campus Gallery, The University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand (group)
Reorchestrated Space, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra, Australia (installation)
A Garden for Orpheus, George Fraser Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (solo)
Tonnetz, The McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, Texas, US (installation)
Screen Harmonics, Sir Paul Reeves Building, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
String Section, Faculty of Arts, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Harmonic Stream, Sandringham Village, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
2012
Sound Response at West, West, NICAI Student Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand (solo)
Call/Reply, Pierre Peeters Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (solo)
Augmented Chords, White Hart, New Plymouth, New Zealand (solo)
Merge, Plus Gallery, Denver, Colorado, US (group)
Quietly Confident, Ilam Campus Gallery, The University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand (group)
Sonic Brew, Audio Foundation, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Shape It, Pah Homestead, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Acoustic Synergy, Ro2 Art Downtown, Dallas, Texas, US (solo)
Notation -36.861798,174.769089, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Phonetic Apparition, Western Park, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Tone Connections, Pah Homestead (central work) Auckland, New Zealand, and various public spaces (satellite works) including; the Mondrian Building, Elam School of Fine Arts, NICAI, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; the Massey University Albany Library, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand; and the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand (solo)
2011
One Song, Three Composers: CentralTrak (central work) Dallas, Texas, US, and various public spaces (satellite works) including; the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art, Dallas, Texas, US; the Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Longview, Texas, US; and the Museum of East Texas, Lufkin, Texas, US (solo)
Odic Time Piece, New Plymouth Clock Tower, New Plymouth, New Zealand (installation)
Winged Crescendo, Gallery Exterior, Plus Gallery, Denver, Colorado, US (installation)
Melodic Flourish, Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Peaking the Edge, Plus Gallery, Denver, Colorado, US (group)
Line Colour Form, Pierre Peeters Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (group)
Rhythm Section, Queenstown Lakes District Council Building, Queenstown, New Zealand (installation)
Symphonic Lineage, Auckland, New Zealand (installation)
Semitone Shift, Pierre Peeters Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (solo)
2010
Relative Major and Minor Triads, NeoGallery, Brisbane, Australia (solo)
The Four Dimensions of a Note, Satellite Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (solo)
Residencies, grants, and awards
2023
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Artist Residency, New Plymouth, New Zealand
2022
Inaugural recipient of the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa Artist Partnership, New Zealand
The University of Southern Queensland Artist Residency, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
2020
Creative New Zealand, Arts Grants, New Zealand: Towards a series of public interventions over a 9 month period to help improve safety for the Taranaki LGBTQI+ community
2016
Atlantic Center for the Arts Residency, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, US
2013
SCANZ Residency, New Plymouth, New Zealand
2011
The University of Texas at Dallas Artist Residency, Dallas, Texas, US
Collections
ANZ Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand
City Art Collection, Wellington City Council, Wellington, New Zealand
Dunedin Public Art Gallery Collection, Dunedin, New Zealand
Hocken Collections, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
J. Conrad Dunagan Library Special Collections, University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Odessa, Texas, US
Massey University Visual Arts Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand Portrait Gallery Collection, Wellington, New Zealand
Pataka Art + Museum Collection, Porirua, New Zealand
PricewaterhouseCoopers Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
Puke Ariki Collection, New Plymouth, New Zealand
QAGOMA Research Library Special Collections, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Roswell Museum and Art Center Collection, Roswell, New Mexico, US
Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui Collection, Whanganui, New Zealand
The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū Collection, Nelson, New Zealand
University of Auckland Art Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
University of Southern Queensland Art Collection, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
University of Waikato Art Collection, Hamilton, New Zealand
Westpac New Zealand Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
Selected bibliography
2024
Experience Te Ara I Whiti - The Lightpath for Art Week. (2024). NZ Herald.
2023
Rainbow artists of the City Art Collection. (2023). Our Wellington - Tō Tātou Pōneke.
2022
Bear, J. (2022, March 23). Reimagined futures: Artists from Aotearoa in the Tenth Asia Pacific Triennial. Contemporary HUM.
Do, M. (2022). Shannon Novak: Holding space. VAULT, 37, 67-72.
Harvey, H. (2022, December 6). Hard Labour: 70 years since New Plymouth prison was used to lock up gay men. Stuff.
Ingram, S., Minnisale, G., Vercoe, C., and Wynne-Jones, V. (2022). The Dialogics of Contemporary Art: Painting Politics. Kerber Verlag.
McWhannell, F. (2022). On building bridges. Art News New Zealand, 41(3), 92-97.
Novak, S. (2022, November 10). Making the rainbow visible in global mental health project. Stuff.
Walker, G., Cantrell, K., and Middleton, C. (2022). Now you don’t see me, now you do: Queer artists as inverse magicians. NiTRO.
2021
Evans, A. (2021, July 23). Celebrating our rainbow community. The Weekend Sun.
Freeman, L. (2021, July 18). Shannon Novak offers opportunities for plurality in art. Radio broadcast. Auckland: Radio New Zealand.
McIlraith, B. (2021, April 1). Taranaki the Rainbow Region: Billboard aims to get acceptance for LGBTQI+ in the province. Stuff.
Minissale, G. (2021). Rhythm in Art, Psychology and New Materialism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Smith, B. (2021, February 28). New Plymouth Airport a safe space for LGBTQI+ community. Stuff.
Tweed, M. (2021, March 6). Safe Space Alliance growing from an experiment to a global network. NZ Herald.
2020
Gallagher, J. (2020). Ambitious and diverse: Sympathetic Resonance at The Suter. Art New Zealand, 173, 88-92.
Hurrell, J. (2020, June 5). Interactive Art in Aotea Square. EyeContact.
McIlraith, B. (2020, August 18). Colours of the rainbow in New Plymouth museum promote positive change. Stuff.
Smith, B. (2020, December 16). Rainbow crossing a sign of acceptance for LGBTQI+ community. Stuff.
2019
Gooch, C. (2019, October 25). LGBTQI+ project at Suter shows it’s not all rainbows in Nelson’s queer community. Stuff.
McAvoy, E. (2019). Rainbow Podium. Exhibition catalogue.
McIlraith, B. (2019, April 13). Small town New Zealand still generations away from full acceptance of rainbow community. Stuff.
McWhannell, F. (2019, April 11). Sex in the gallery: Shannon Novak’s Sub Rosa. The Pantograph Punch.
Mitchell, S. (2019, January 10). Exhibition looks at what is was like to be a closeted gay teen in Taranaki in the 90’s. Stuff.
2018
Arni-Howald, K. (2018, April 12). Solothurn Cathedral has inspired a New Zealand artist. Solothurner Zeitung.
Daly-Peoples, J. (2018, August 16). Wallace Award winner shows in Switzerland. The National Business Review.
Dornauf, P. (2018, October 19). Novak at Ramp. EyeContact.
Landingin, M. Y. (2018, February 8). Save our gallery: Art and people power. Tearaway.
Minissale, G. (2018). Topological diagrams. Drain, 15(1).
Morris, C. (2018, March 3). Digital sculpture at gallery. Otago Daily Times.
Stanhope, Z. (2018). Home truths: The politics of debility in recent projects by Shannon Novak. Art New Zealand, 168, 66-69.
Starrenburg, D. (2018). Installation art. Geometry, 3, 30-38.
Van Velthooven, E. (Producer). (2018, February 2). Britomart’s snappy makeover in celebration of pride month. Television broadcast. New Zealand: TVNZ 1.
White, M. (2018). Art galleries go digital. Art News New Zealand, 38(2), 88-91.
2017
Evans, K. (2017). Are your Saturdays yellow? North & South, 373, 66-73.
Fox, R. (2017, April 6). Art - but not as you know it. Otago Daily Times.
Sanders, N. (2017). A Visual Feast. Mindfood, 75-77.
Stocker, M., & McCarthy, C. (Eds). (2017). Colonial Gothic to Maori Renaissance: Essays in memory of Jonathan Mane-Wheoki. Victoria University Press. Cover.
Wolfe, R. (2017). Without whom. Art New Zealand, 163, 110-112.
2016
Cytowic, R. E. (2016). Art on the synesthetic spectrum. Exhibition essay.
Kedgley, H. (2016). Leitmotif. Exhibition catalogue.
Kim, H. (Producer). (2016, June 26). Sensory education: the key to creativity. Television broadcast. South Korea: Educational Broadcasting System (EBS).
Portraits need not always be figurative. (2016). Art News New Zealand, 36(3), 119.
Shingade, B. (2016). Soft Architecture. Exhibition catalogue.
Shingade, B., & Johnson, E. (2016). Shannon Novak: Listening Forms. Essay.
Stephenson, S. (2016). Click bait. North & South, 369, 32.
Wilkinson, J. (2016, February 21). Jazzy new look for ANZ bank by a New Plymouth artist. Taranaki Daily News.
2015
Abbott, D. (2015). Outdoor pursuits: summer sculpture on the Hauraki Gulf. Art New Zealand, 153, 56-59.
Armstrong, K. (2015). String Section. Art and Disruption, 94.
Gregory, J. (Presenter). (2015, 9 August). Cryptocosmos. Radio broadcast. Auckland: Radio New Zealand.
Hurrell, J. (2015, August 11). Echoing colour and more. EyeContact.
Hurrell, J. (2015, October 1). Novak wall drawings. EyeContact.
McAvoy, E. (2015). Augmenting architecture: Shannon Novak's Cryptocosmos. Exhibition essay.
Pastorale. (2015). Issues in Science and Technology, 32(1), 96.
Walsh, K. (2015, April 2). The art of illusion. The Gisborne Herald.
Wood, A. P. (2015). Analogue sourcecode. Exhibition essay.
2014
Benson, T. (2014). Visibility, sound, and presence. Manhattan Phrase 40.74279,-74.008981 to 40.728411,-73.975679 (pp. 41-43).
Cleland, S. (2014). So close...yet: Shannon Novak and New Zealand's augmented modernism. Manhattan Phrase 40.74279,-74.008981 to 40.728411,-73.975679 (pp. 15-20).
Gardiner, S. (2014). Artists on the edge of an epiphany. Art News New Zealand, 34(3), 98-103.
Gimblett, M., Jones, M., & Novak, S. (2014). Space of being. Manhattan Phrase 40.74279,-74.008981 to 40.728411,-73.975679 (pp. 29-33).
Gwilt, I. (2014). Augmented reality graffiti and street art. Augmented Reality Art: From an Emerging Technology to a Novel Creative Medium (pp. 189-198).
Gwilt, I. (2014). Creatively augmenting the urban experience. Manhattan Phrase 40.74279,-74.008981 to 40.728411,-73.975679 (pp. 35-38).
Minissale, G. (2014). Revealing freedom: Contemporary New Zealand art at Auckland Art Gallery. Art New Zealand, 149, 44-48.
Reid, M. (2014). Inside / outside: Shannon Novak and the legacy of Anthony Caro. Manhattan Phrase 40.74279,-74.008981 to 40.728411,-73.975679 (pp. 23-27).
Subramaniam, R. (2014). Remote sensing: from New Zealand to New York. Manhattan Phrase 40.74279,-74.008981 to 40.728411,-73.975679 (pp. 11-12).
Woo, Y. J. (2014). Para: An Anthology on Art and Parasitism. Exhibition catalogue.
2013
Conland, N. (2013). Freedom Farmers: New Zealand Artists Growing Ideas. Exhibition catalogue.
Gardiner, S. (2013). Art in the age of vertigo. Art News New Zealand, 33(2), 98-104.
Georgiou, D. (2013). Have you listened to this doorknob today? Exhibition essay.
Hurrell, J. (2013, August 27). Eight Elam graduates. EyeContact.
Ikram, A. (Producer). (2013, June 25). Invisible art shows augmented reality. Television broadcast. New Zealand: 3 News.
Notions of freedom in question. (2013). Art News New Zealand, 33(4), 42.
Novak, S. (2013). Site Weave: Revealing interconnections through music. Proceedings of the 9th ACM Conference on Creativity & Cognition, 418-419.
Rieser, M. (2013). Shannon Novak and Tonnetz. Exhibition essay.
Shaikh, T. (2013, September 25). Hear and see artwork: use your mobile. Auckland City Harbour News.
Stephens, T. (2013, November 3). Brighten city's image. Taranaki Daily News, 13.
2012
Button, J. (2012). States of consciousness: Synesthetic responses in the works of Shannon Novak. One Song, Three Composers (pp. 32-35).
Button, J., Fontenot, H., Smither, S., Merrick, R., Regalado, L., Preston, A., Nichols, A., Sutherlin, S. (2012). One Song, Three Composers.
Clifford, A. (2012). String theory. Exhibition essay.
Hamilton, B. (2012). Shannon Novak: Acoustic Synergy. Exhibition essay.
Majzoub, M. (2012), Optical crescendo: Shannon Novak's visually compelling opus. RAGMAG, 26-29.
Merrick, R. (2012). Of music and mind. One Song, Three Composers (pp. 26-29).
Novak, S. (2012). Exhibiting sound across space, time, and culture. World Art, 2(2), 241-249.
Smither, M. (2012). The enigma of arrival. One Song, Three Composers (pp. 16-17).
2011
Beech, J. (2011, October 24). JazzFest plays on. Queenstown Times (front page).
In praise of patrons. (2011). Art News New Zealand, 31(4), 32.
Lilly, C. (2011, December 6). CentralTrak artist's exhibit maps sound to image. The University of Texas at Dallas News Center.
Melodic Flourish at Britomart. (2011). Architecture New Zealand, 4, 18.
Roy, S. (2011, June 27). The shape of sound: Shannon Novak. Spike Magazine.
Saunders, K. (2011, August 6). Like time, this colourful artwork will be fleeting. Taranaki Daily News.
Speaking of sound. (2011). Art News New Zealand, 31(1), 121.
Withers, A. (2011, November 2). New art exhibit in Deep Ellum explores color, sound. The Daily Campus.
Selected lectures, presentations, and performances
2024
Layers of Representation, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (panel discussion)
2023
Light in Art: Painted, Camera, Artificial, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand (panel discussion)
2019
Painting Politics Symposium, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand (presentation)
2018
Lines of Research, Te Tuhi, Auckland, New Zealand (panel discussion)
Limb II, Pataka, Wellington, New Zealand (performance)
2017
Vessel LVII, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand (performance)
2016
Leitmotif, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (presentation)
2013
Augmented Reality Interventions in Urban Space, Parsons The New School for Design, Manhattan, New York, US (lecture)
The Musicality of Everyday Objects and Locations, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand (presentation)
2011
Sound Bites, Arthouse Cinema, New Plymouth, New Zealand (presentation)