Michael Burton Assistant Professor - Director Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery - Center for Digital Research in the Humanities Fellow - Research Affiliate in the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools
2007 M.F.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2000 B.F.A., Green Mountain College
Michael is a educator, artist, and filmmaker, recognized for his Animating History Digital Fashion Lab, which has produced seven critically acclaimed animated films. His scholarlship centers on digital storytelling, CG Art, and Digital Fashion, where he has developed an award-winning technique that integrates live actors in costume with immersive 3D animated environments.
As a filmmaker, Michael has earned eight prestigious national awards and has been featured in nineteen juried film festivals across the US, including two Academy Award qualifiers. Beyond filmmaking, his artwork has been exhibited in major US museums such as the Denver Art Museum, Vero Beach Museum of Art, and Rhode Island School of Design Art Museum, reflecting his diverse creative talents and scholarly contributions.
Michael teaches: Computer Basics for Fashion, Visualization Studio, Color Studio, Advanced Design for Printed Textiles, and a new course - Digital Apparel Design.
Selected Film Festivals and Exhibitions:
2024 Phoenix Film Festival (juried) - April 2024
2024 Omaha Film Festival (juried) - March 2024
2022 Silk Roads International Film Festival (juried)- October 2022 Cannes, France
2022 Prince George’s Film Festival (juried) – September 2022 Bowie, MD
2022 Art Struct – Vero Beach Museum of Art (invited) – Dec 2022 Vero Beach, FL
2022 The 15th Annual Digital Graffiti (juried)– May 2022 Alys Beach, FL
2021 Floor of the Sky (solo) Kiechel Fine Art Lincoln, NE.
2020 A Gold Slipper (solo) Kiechel Fine Art Lincoln, NE.
2020 Nebraska Now; Anna (solo) Museum of Nebraska Art Kearney, NE.
2020 A Gold Slipper (solo) Willa Cather Foundation Museum Red Cloud, NE.
2019 Hip Hop Film Festival (juried) Harlem, NY.
2018 Virginia Film Festival (juried) Charlottesville, VA
2018 New Media Film Festival (juried) Los Angeles, CA.
2018 Utopia Film Festival (juried) Greenbelt, MD.
2018 Atlantic Selects Film Screening Online
2018 Bronze Lens Film Festival (juried) Atlanta, GA
2015 Art Seen Joslyn Art Museum (juried) Omaha, NE
2011 Blink! Light, Sound and the Moving Image -Denver Art Museum Denver, CO
Grants:
Total: $323,570.00
External: $237,700
Institutional: $85,870
Funded - Internal Support
M. Burton, Dreher, K. Thomas, W.G. (2023 - 2024) UNL Research Council: Layman Grant, Animating History; Using Film as an Educational Tool to Tell Stories of Enslaved Families Who Sought Freedom through the Law - $10,000
M. Burton, Dreher, K. Thomas, W.G. (2022-2023) UNL Research Council: Interdisciplinary Research Grant – Animating History Lab, The Diary of Michael Shiner – Film Production $20,000
M. Burton, Casto, M.A., Starkey, S. (2022) UNL Convocations Grant – Kendra Benson – This Woman’s Work – Exhibition and lecture in the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery- $1,000
M. Burton (2021-2022) Bridge Funds - CEHS Audrey Newton Innovation and Excellence fund– Animation staff for Animating History Lab - $12,000
M. Burton (2021) GAP Funding – UNL Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor - $2,000
M. Burton, Starkey, S. (2021-2022) CEHS Technology Innovation Grant – Motion Capture for Animation $7,370
M. Burton (2017-2019) UNL Cather Project - A Gold Slipper film and art exhibition production grant $8,000
M. Burton, Thomas, W.G. (2016-2017) UNL Arts and Humanities Research Enhancement Program Grant - support for film production of Anna $10,000
M. Burton (2016) Hixson Lied Dean’s Office - support for film production of Anna $2000
M. Burton (2013-2014) CEHS Technology Innovation Grant – “Vault” Video Tutorial Database - $13,500
Funded - External Support
M. Burton, Dreher, K. Thomas, W.G. (2021-2022) Kitty M. Perkins Foundation NU Foundation - The Bell Affair finish costs for distribution $20,000
M. Burton, Dreher, K. Thomas, W.G. (2019-2021) National Endowment for the Humanities - Media Production grant $200,000
M. Burton, Dreher, K. Thomas, W.G. (2020-2021) Maryland Humanities Major Grant – Media Production grant $8,400
M. Burton (2016) Hatchfund.org Crowd - funding support for film production of Anna $4,300
M. Burton (2013) Nebraska Arts Council - Distinguished Film Maker Award $5,000
Selected Press:
2022 William Ford, Animation Documentary Tells Story of Enslaved Family Who Fought for Freedom, Washington
Informer, June 2, 2022
2022 Sheilah Kast, The Searing Story of the Enslaved Family’s Fight for Freedom, On The Record, May 14, 2022 https://www.wypr.org/show/on-the-record/2022-05-19/the-searing-story-of-the-enslaved-bell-familys-fight-for-freedom
2022 Deann Gayman, New film,‘Bell Affair’ explores freedom suits in America, Nebraska Today, April 4, 2022
2022 Nelson, August UNL Professors Create Film Celebrating Black-led Emancipation, Daily Nebraskan Feb 23, 2022
2022 Kiechel Fine Art Center showcases NFTs by local artists, Nebraska News Service, April 2, 2022
2021 Nebraska Quarterly Magazine, Professor earns kudos for history of freedom suits, p34, Fall 2021
2021 Willa Cather’s ‘A Gold Slipper’ adapted for exhibition, Nebraska Today Dec 3, 2021
2021 L Kent Wolgamott, NFTs, The Hottest New Product in the Art Market, come to Lincoln, Lincoln Journal Star Sep 6,2021
2021 Kiechel features Burton’s Nebraska-inspired artworks, Nebraska Today, August 30, 2021
2021 Magic Alchemy; Artists Talk about Inventing the NFT and Digital Art at Kiechel Fine Art, Customs BMX.com, August 2021
2021 Friday Live radio program, Nebraska Public Media: Discussing The Bell Affair
2021 Deann Gayman, Thomas Earns Lynton Prize for a ‘Question of Freedom’, Nebraska Today, March 26, 2021
2020 L Kent Wolgamott, A Gold Slipper Illustrates and Illuminates Cather Short Story, Lincoln Journal Star Jan 23,2020
2020 Rick Brown, MONA to host ‘Collection Connection’ program Jan. 22, Grand Island Independent, Jan 8, 2020
2020 Rick Brown, UNL professor Michael Burton tells Anna's story of escaping slavery in 12-minute animated film Kearney Hub, Jan 16, 2020
Areas of Expertise:
Art and Design
Animation