Multimedia Artist Embraces New Role Connecting Students and Social Practice

Katharen Wiese, MFA, a practitioner-in-residence in Art and Design and the first community-engaged teaching fellow at the University of New Haven, is passionate about connecting art with social practice. Drawing from her experience as a community arts organizer, Prof. Wiese engages in projects that bridge individual creative expression and local communities. “When I saw the call for applications, it felt like a perfect fit for my interests,” she shared.

Supported through a partnership between the University of New Haven and the Yale School of Art, Prof. Wiese’s fellowship involves curriculum development and facilitating student-led collaborations in the local community. "Right now, I’m teaching painting and visual thinking while developing a community-engaged art course to teach next Fall," she explained.

The fellowship allows her to foster connections between art and social practice, a central theme in her own work. Her exhibit “A Great Migration,” currently on view at the Yale Peabody Museum, draws on her personal history as well as broader themes of migration and adaptation.

“Growing up in Nebraska, I was often one of the few people of color in my classes,” she said. “That made me think deeply about identity and what it means to belong.”

The idea of cultural adaptation is central to her exhibit, which compares the northern migration of Sandhill cranes to the Great Migration of African Americans in the 20th century.

Prof. Wiese’s own migration —from Nebraska to New Haven—mirrors the themes explored in her exhibit. Her maternal family’s move in 1964, from rural Alabama to the Midwest in search of safety and opportunity, resonated with her own experiences of cultural displacement.

“I see myself as part of this larger migration story, just as my family did years ago,” she reflected.

What captivated Prof. Wiese was the behavior of Sandhill cranes, specifically painting, which she learned about while developing her exhibit. Though painting behavior is still being researched, Sandhill cranes preen their feathers with iron-rich mud, which can act to make their appearance more discrete, along the tall grass prairies of the Midwest. “I was struck by how these birds adapt—just as people do when moving through different cultural landscapes,” she explained.

This tension between adaptation and the pursuit of new opportunities became a central motif in her exhibit.

As the University’s first community-engaged teaching fellow, Prof. Wiese is looking forward to supporting students and the local community through experiential learning. She envisions creating projects that explore students’ identities and passions while addressing local needs.

“I want students to ask themselves: ‘Who am I? What do I care about? And how can I bring that into the communities I engage with?’” she said.

Prof. Wiese sees art as a tool for fostering connection and dialogue. Her goal is to create a space where students and community members can explore big questions about individual agency and social impact.

“I’m hoping for a large cross-section of students, all engaging in conversations about how to make an impact in the world,” she explained. Prof. Wiese aims to inspire students to think critically about their role in the local community and beyond, regardless of their field of study.

At the heart of her work is the idea of collective action and shared experience. Her installation “A Great Migration” includes sculptures made from reclaimed materials, representing both ancestral and contemporary migrations.

"The central figure in the installation symbolizes the hands and actions that make movement possible—both historically and today," she explained.

This participatory approach extended to museum visitors who traced their hands to form the substrate of the sculptures. “It’s about the power of collective action—how we all contribute to this larger migration story,” Prof. Wiese said, underscoring the sense of shared experience her work seeks to inspire.

Reflecting on the significance of her fellowship and exhibit, Prof. Wiese said: “I hope my work raises questions about how we move through the world, both individually and collectively. It’s about finding joy in who we are, even when faced with immense pressure to conform.”

Wiese envisions art as a catalyst for action, encouraging students to engage deeply with the world around them and to see themselves as part of a larger collective effort.

“We all have agency—how do we activate that in the community?” she asks.