ABOUT
JAMES KENNEY
Jim has degrees in painting and design, for which he was inducted into the PHI BETA KAPPA Society and given the gold medal by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), respectively. He taught for thirteen years at the CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS, where he was an Associate Professor, and has lectured at Stanford and UC Berkeley. He was elected as a Higher Education Leader by ADOBE and appointed to their Partners by Design advisory board.
Jim was a curatorial assistant at the NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART and completed the practical film laboratory at PIXAR Animation Studios. He was a bug-and-beta-tester for ADOBE, with his name credited in PhotoShop 4.x.
Jim first professionally created title sequences for film and graphics for broadcast projects at IMAGINARY FORCES in Hollywood, 1996. In 1997, he bought Canon’s first mini-DV camera and made his first digital film, This Side Out, edited on a frankensteined mac-clone that could barely output its 6-minute length. The film went on to tour globally at RES-Fest, the first premiere digital film festival. His second film, Ground, was also the selected the next year for the RES-Fest global tour and was featured on their Best of… distribution DVD. Jim’s film work includes three feature-length documentaries and four internationally-screened short films.
He has been honored by publications, festivals and organizations around the world. Film projects to which Jim has contributed have been awarded by prominent international film festivals and organizations, including the SUNDANCE Film Festival and the ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES. Jim is a founding board member of REAL IDEAS STUDIO, a non-profit organization which produces films and directs international filmmaking programs, including many years at the CANNES Film Festival. He is also the founder and director of SF SHORTS: The San Francisco International Festival of Short Films.
Jim’s work has been exhibited in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, The Alexandria Museum, and at The Wrong Biennale.
IMDB listing INSTAGRAM Account
HONORS / AWARDS / APPOINTMENTS / EXHIBITIONS
2024, TeraVarna Gallery (Los Angeles), Cataract exhibited in Water international juried group show.
2022, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Sierra Gothic exhibited in Portraits of Leadership show, sponsored by Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
2022, The Alexandria Museum, Sierra Gothic exhibited and 2nd place prize in the 35th Annual Competition.
2021, The Wrong Biennale, Techspressionism pavilion, exhibition juried by Helen A. Harrison, Director of the Pollock-Krasner House.
2021, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, A Digital Art Salon, juried exhibition.
2020, Techspressionism, artist group, inducted.
2018, Creative Quarterly, Winner, Fine Art.
2017, Creative Quarterly, Winner, Graphic Design.
2006-2016, Real Ideas Studio, Inc, global filmmaking collaborative non-profit, Founder / Vice President.
2015, Searching for Hell, segment director within feature documentary film, 1st documentary to premiere in Virtual Reality, in addition to international festival screenings.
2015, Creative Quarterly, Runner-Up Award, Photography.
2015, Association Internationale de la Couleur, inducted.
2012, Other Than, feature documentary, Cannes Film Festival, market premiere screening. Distributed by Snag Films.
2011, Academy Award nomination for Barber of Birmingham, designed and animated titles and graphic sequences.
1998-2011, California College of the Arts, Associate Professor.
1999, 2003, & 2007, California College of the Arts, awarded faculty grants.
2010, Polack, feature documentary screenings : Red Vic Moviehouse, SF; Bug Theater, Denver; Angelika Theater, Dallas; and Pixar Theater, Emeryville, CA.
2006-7, My Dad’s Hair, short film; Cannes Short Film Corner, Rome International Film Festival (Nominated for Best Experimental Film), and Rooftop Film Festival NYC.
2005, National Association of Film & Digital Media Artists, Insight Award for motion graphics sequence in film, Soul of Justice.
2002, Academy Award nomination for Daughter from Danang, designed and animated titles and graphic sequences.
2001, SFMOMA, SECA Experimental Design Award Exhibition, Body Shop Interactive CD-ROM, with PostTool Design.
2001, Pixar, Practical Film Laboratory Fellowship.
2000-2011, Adobe (software Inc.), inducted to advisory boards: Partners by Design and Higher Education Leaders.
1999, Ground, short film; RESFest, global tour (NYC, SF, LA, London, Tokyo, Berlin, & Rotterdam); Distributed by Palm Pictures; Best Of RESFest, Volume 1 DVD.
1998, American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) awarded Student Gold Medal for degree work.
1998, This Side Out, short film; RESFest, global tour (NYC, SF, LA, & London); Distributed by Palm Pictures.
1997, Imaginary Forces, motion graphic designer, contributed to film sequences, including Gattica, Spawn, Mimic, Mousehunt
1996, Adobe PhotoShop 4, Staff, credited on splash screen.
1993, National Gallery of Art, Curatorial Assistant; Employee Art Exhibition.
1991, Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, inducted.
Jim has degrees in painting and design, for which he was inducted into the PHI BETA KAPPA Society and given the gold medal by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), respectively. He taught for thirteen years at the CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS, where he was an Associate Professor, and has lectured at Stanford and UC Berkeley. He was elected as a Higher Education Leader by ADOBE and appointed to their Partners by Design advisory board.
Jim was a curatorial assistant at the NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART and completed the practical film laboratory at PIXAR Animation Studios. He was a bug-and-beta-tester for ADOBE, with his name credited in PhotoShop 4.x.
Jim first professionally created title sequences for film and graphics for broadcast projects at IMAGINARY FORCES in Hollywood, 1996. In 1997, he bought Canon’s first mini-DV camera and made his first digital film, This Side Out, edited on a frankensteined mac-clone that could barely output its 6-minute length. The film went on to tour globally at RES-Fest, the first premiere digital film festival. His second film, Ground, was also the selected the next year for the RES-Fest global tour and was featured on their Best of… distribution DVD. Jim’s film work includes three feature-length documentaries and four internationally-screened short films.
He has been honored by publications, festivals and organizations around the world. Film projects to which Jim has contributed have been awarded by prominent international film festivals and organizations, including the SUNDANCE Film Festival and the ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES. Jim is a founding board member of REAL IDEAS STUDIO, a non-profit organization which produces films and directs international filmmaking programs, including many years at the CANNES Film Festival. He is also the founder and director of SF SHORTS: The San Francisco International Festival of Short Films.
Jim’s work has been exhibited in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, The Alexandria Museum, and at The Wrong Biennale.
IMDB listing INSTAGRAM Account
HONORS / AWARDS / APPOINTMENTS / EXHIBITIONS
2024, TeraVarna Gallery (Los Angeles), Cataract exhibited in Water international juried group show.
2022, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Sierra Gothic exhibited in Portraits of Leadership show, sponsored by Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
2022, The Alexandria Museum, Sierra Gothic exhibited and 2nd place prize in the 35th Annual Competition.
2021, The Wrong Biennale, Techspressionism pavilion, exhibition juried by Helen A. Harrison, Director of the Pollock-Krasner House.
2021, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, A Digital Art Salon, juried exhibition.
2020, Techspressionism, artist group, inducted.
2018, Creative Quarterly, Winner, Fine Art.
2017, Creative Quarterly, Winner, Graphic Design.
2006-2016, Real Ideas Studio, Inc, global filmmaking collaborative non-profit, Founder / Vice President.
2015, Searching for Hell, segment director within feature documentary film, 1st documentary to premiere in Virtual Reality, in addition to international festival screenings.
2015, Creative Quarterly, Runner-Up Award, Photography.
2015, Association Internationale de la Couleur, inducted.
2012, Other Than, feature documentary, Cannes Film Festival, market premiere screening. Distributed by Snag Films.
2011, Academy Award nomination for Barber of Birmingham, designed and animated titles and graphic sequences.
1998-2011, California College of the Arts, Associate Professor.
1999, 2003, & 2007, California College of the Arts, awarded faculty grants.
2010, Polack, feature documentary screenings : Red Vic Moviehouse, SF; Bug Theater, Denver; Angelika Theater, Dallas; and Pixar Theater, Emeryville, CA.
2006-7, My Dad’s Hair, short film; Cannes Short Film Corner, Rome International Film Festival (Nominated for Best Experimental Film), and Rooftop Film Festival NYC.
2005, National Association of Film & Digital Media Artists, Insight Award for motion graphics sequence in film, Soul of Justice.
2002, Academy Award nomination for Daughter from Danang, designed and animated titles and graphic sequences.
2001, SFMOMA, SECA Experimental Design Award Exhibition, Body Shop Interactive CD-ROM, with PostTool Design.
2001, Pixar, Practical Film Laboratory Fellowship.
2000-2011, Adobe (software Inc.), inducted to advisory boards: Partners by Design and Higher Education Leaders.
1999, Ground, short film; RESFest, global tour (NYC, SF, LA, London, Tokyo, Berlin, & Rotterdam); Distributed by Palm Pictures; Best Of RESFest, Volume 1 DVD.
1998, American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) awarded Student Gold Medal for degree work.
1998, This Side Out, short film; RESFest, global tour (NYC, SF, LA, & London); Distributed by Palm Pictures.
1997, Imaginary Forces, motion graphic designer, contributed to film sequences, including Gattica, Spawn, Mimic, Mousehunt
1996, Adobe PhotoShop 4, Staff, credited on splash screen.
1993, National Gallery of Art, Curatorial Assistant; Employee Art Exhibition.
1991, Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, inducted.