Naim Aburaddi

Naim Aburaddi is an artist, journalist, and media instructor. He is currently a Data Justice Fellow at Princeton University’s Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab and a fellow at the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture. He is pursuing a PhD in media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he teaches in the Department of Media Studies.  He is the co-founder and manager of the Phoenix of Gaza XR project, an interactive virtual reality experience that documents life in Gaza highlighting Gaza's culture, history, and resilience.

His artwork has been showcased at major institutions, including Princeton and Yale, where he has also spoken at a prominent event at Princeton and delivered a keynote at Yale on immersive storytelling, media justice, and cultural preservation. He has been featured in major media outlets such as the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, BBC, and Colorado Public Radio (CPR). In recognition of his dedication to activism and scholarship, Aburaddi was awarded the prestigious  2024 Graduate Student Activist Award by the Activism & Social Justice Division of the National Communication Association (NCA). With over seven years of experience in digital media, he has held roles as a digital content editor, social media manager, and social media specialist at international media production companies.

Aburaddi’s research explores how immersive technologies can be harnessed for cultural preservation and as tools for imagining alternative futures. He investigates how virtual and augmented reality, 360-degree storytelling, and spatial computing can serve as platforms for documenting histories, resisting erasure, and fostering new modes of engagement with displaced or marginalized communities. His work also examines the ethical and political dimensions of these technologies, particularly in the context of media justice and representation. Utilizing creative spaces such as planetariums and black box studios, he creates counter-media narratives that challenge dominant perspectives and expand the possibilities of storytelling.