Shannon Novak (born 1979,

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

) is a New Zealand artist and curator of Croatian descent (otherwise known as Tarara in New Zealand). Novak's work aims to reduce anxiety, depression, and suicide rates for

LGBTQI+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

communities worldwide by highlighting the challenges and triumphs of those communities.

Early life and activism

Novak was trained as a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

in his early age. He later started composing and performing his own works. Novak grew up as a closeted LGBTQI+ person in

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

in the 1980's and 1990's. During this time he was the co-founder of LGBTQI+ youth group called Bent. In late 2018, Novak co-founded the Conversion Therapy Action Group with local LGBTQI+ activists

Shaneel Lal Shaneel Shavneel Lal (born 22 January 2000) is a Fijian-New Zealand LGBT rights activist, columnist and political commentator. Lal is best known for advocating for the ban of conversion therapy in New Zealand. Early life Lal was born in Nau ...

, Harry Robson, Max Tweedie, and Neihana Waitai, to work towards ending conversion therapy in New Zealand. In 2019, Novak founded the Safe Space Alliance, a LGBTQI+ led

nonprofit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that aims to help people find and create safe spaces for LGBTQI+ communities around the world. In 2020, Novak successfully campaigned for a rainbow crossing in

with support from local LGBTQI+ communities. In 2022, the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill passed its third and final reading, becoming law. In 2023, Novak (through the Safe Space Alliance) initiated the reclassification of selected indecent/restricted LGBTQI+ publications under the defunct Indecent Publications Act 1963 (New Zealand) to “unrestricted”.

Art career

Novak attended

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the University of Auckland Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. It offered the first Bachelor of ...

and graduated with Master of Fine Arts from

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. Novak is known for his geometric

abstraction Abstraction is a process where general rules and concepts are derived from the use and classifying of specific examples, literal (reality, real or Abstract and concrete, concrete) signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" ...

and work that explores beyond traditional exhibition spaces such as windows, and outside of buildings. He is known to explore interrelationships between sound, colour, form, time, space, and social context surrounding the rainbow community. From 2013, he explored art with

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

that animates on people's phones when pointed at specific points of his works. In 2013, Novak was commissioned by the

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

to develop a body of AR work using mobile devices, augmenting artwork and architectural elements at the gallery. This work used a marker-based approach where the work was triggered by what mobile devices saw through their cameras. Later in 2013, Novak used a location-based approach where the work was triggered by GPS coordinates on mobile devices. This work was a three-dimensional AR sculpture with sound called ''Pastorale'' in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

that simulated the mechanics of a real sculpture, changing scale and volume (sound) depending on the viewers' distance from the work. In 2018, Novak extended this work using head -mounted displays at the

Dunedin Public Art Gallery The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, Dunedin Town Hall, and other facilities such as ...

. Visitors wore a

Microsoft HoloLens Microsoft HoloLens is an augmented reality (AR)/ mixed reality (MR) headset developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens runs the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system. Some of the positional tracking tech ...

and could use voice commands and gestures to interact with a three-dimensional AR sculpture, changing its size, colour, and configuration. In 2018, Novak co-developed a work at

Te Tuhi Te Tuhi, formerly known as Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, Te Tuhi - The Mark, Te Tuhi Gallery and Pakuranga Arts Society is a public contemporary art gallery situated in Pakuranga, Auckland, New Zealand. Managed by Te Tuhi Contemporary Art Trust a ...

called ''Flight of the Magnolia''. This work used existing security cameras to visualise movement in real time on an onsite screen and website. This collaboration continued in 2020 with a work in public space that translated movement into visuals. In 2021, Novak was selected for the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). For his contribution, Novak developed ''Make Visible: Queensland,'' a community-led body of work spanning sites inside the gallery and outside the gallery including the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland is a public research university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, the sixth largest city in the Australian state of Queensland Founded in 1967 after a successful campaign by the local Darling Down ...

. Novak extended this work to New Zealand In 2022 where he initiated ''Make Visible: Te Whanganui-a-Tara'' with

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the city of Wellington, the country's capital city and List of cities in New Zealand#City councils, third-largest city by popul ...

, a project that aimed to help lower rates of anxiety, suicide, and depression for rainbow communities in Wellington. In 2022, Novak created a project named ''Hard Labour'' in New Plymouth Prison, which between 1912 and 1952 was used to imprison

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual men, bisexual and homoromantic men may dually identify as ''gay'' and a number of gay men also identify as ''queer''. Historic terminology for gay men has included ''Sexual inversion (sexology), in ...

who were forced to do hard labour in the nearby

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

. In 2024, Novak was commissioned to create an algorithm-based work for Te Ara I Whiti - The Lightpath where path lighting changed colour in response to movement. In 2025, Novak presented a solo exhibition at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in collaboration with th
Stanford Center for AI Safety
and th
Stanford Department of Art & Art History
This work highlighted the dangers of conversational AI agents with physical and virtual AI-developed work extending beyond campus to the

Computer History Museum The Computer History Museum (CHM) is a computer museum in Mountain View, California. The museum presents stories and artifacts of Silicon Valley and the Information Age, and explores the Digital Revolution, computing revolution and its impact ...

, San José Museum of Art, and Institute of Contemporary Art San José. Novak's works are in the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA,

, Suter Art Gallery,

Sarjeant Gallery The Sarjeant Gallery at Pukenamu, Queen's Park Whanganui is a regional art museum with a collection of international and New Zealand art. It was closed for 10 years for redevelopment and re-opened on Saturday 9 November 2024. In 2024 it was anno ...

St. Lawrence University St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 1 ...

, Chartwell Trust, and

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

Residencies

* 2023 –

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a contemporary art museum at New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in ...

Artist Residency, New Plymouth, New Zealand * 2022 –

Burnett Foundation Aotearoa Burnett Foundation Aotearoa (formerly the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF)) is New Zealand’s national HIV prevention and healthcare organisation. Its funding is derived from grants, donations and the Ministry of Health. Burnett Foundation ...

Artist Partnership, New Zealand * 2022 – The

Artist Residency, Toowoomba,

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia * 2011 – The

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

at Dallas Artist Residency, Dallas, Texas, United States

Selected solo exhibitions / installations

* 2025 – ''Trust.Me''.,

, Stanford, California, United States * 2024 – ''Dušo'',

Commercial Bay Commercial Bay () was a historic bay on the southern side of the Waitematā Harbour that defined the original extent of the Auckland waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand. Today, the name Commercial Bay refers to the heavily developed area aroun ...

, Auckland, New Zealand * 2024 – ''Give Light'', Sylvia Park, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023 – ''Te Haeata (Anew)'', Burnett Centre, Auckland, New Zealand * 2022 – ''Make Visible: Taranaki,'' Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand * 2022 – ''Hard Labour'', New Plymouth Prison, New Plymouth, New Zealand * 2021 – ''Make Visible: Queensland'', Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia * 2021 – ''Mānawatia Takatāpui/Defending Plurality,'' Tauranga Art Gallery, Tauranga, New Zealand

Selected group exhibitions

* 2025 ''–'' ''Inflection Point,''

Bergman Gallery Bergman Gallery is an international commercial art gallery with an original gallery in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, and a second gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. Bergman Gallery represents and has represented many significant international artist ...

, Auckland, New Zealand * 2024 – ''A Taste of Honey'',

, New York, United States * 2024 – ''The Chronicle of ,'' The Engine Room,

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

, Wellington, New Zealand * 2022 – ''Aotearoa Art Fair'', Bergman Gallery, The Cloud, Auckland, New Zealand * 2020 – ''Queer Algorithms'',

Gus Fisher Gallery Gus Fisher Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and operated by the University of Auckland in Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is loca ...

, Auckland, New Zealand * 2019 – ''Sympathetic Resonance'',

The Suter Art Gallery Nelson Central is the central suburb and central business district of Nelson, New Zealand. Amenities The suburb includes the Christ Church Cathedral and the surrounding Church Hill reserve. Nelson Provincial Museum, the regional museum, is ...

, Nelson, New Zealand * 2016 – ''Garden Centennial'', Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum,

Pelham Bay Park Pelham Bay Park is a municipal park located in the northeast corner of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is, at , the largest public park in New York City. The park is more than three times the size of Manhattan's Central Park. The p ...

, New York, United States * 2016 – ''Soft Architecture'', Malcolm Smith Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2015 – ''Data Body as Artifact'', Fukuoka International Congress Center, Fukuoka, Japan * 2015 – ''Disruption,''

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Vancouver, Canada

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Shannon 1979 births Living people Artists from Auckland 21st-century New Zealand artists New Zealand artists New Zealand people of Croatian descent LGBTQ in New Zealand Gay artists Croatian diaspora in New Zealand