Art Break: Collective Healing through Art with Dr. Donalyn Heise

Take an Art Break at the VAC to consider how artists and educators use art to process individual and collective trauma. Dr. Donalyn Heise (faculty, Art Education) will discuss her qualitative research in relation to the work of Michael Queenland, currently on view at the VAC. Heise’s work focuses on the role art can play in fostering resilience, community, purpose, creative problem-solving, persistence, flexibility, and resourcefulness. Learn how looking at art, analyzing art, talking about art, creating art, and presenting art can contribute to our ability to process adversity and move forward together toward communal healing.

This event is presented in conjunction with Michael Queenland: Rudy's Ramp of Remainders 2012/2022. Attendees are strongly encouraged to wear face masks while in the galleries. 

Art Breaks are short, interdisciplinary talks that provide opportunities for visitors to experience the VAC galleries through the unique perspectives of faculty from across UT’s campus. Each Art Break invites a new faculty member to engage with a VAC exhibition and share connections between their research and the works on view.

Bio

Dr. Donalyn Heise is an artist, educator, author, and researcher with over 30 years of experience. Her research utilizes a strengths-based approach to foster resilience through art and enhance social-emotional learning in youth and adults who have experienced trauma. She is currently Associate Professor of Instruction in the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NAEA Southeastern Region Higher Education Award (2010), the NAEA-VSA-CEC Beverly Levett-Gerber Special Needs Lifetime Achievement Award (2009), and the Tennessee Art Educator of the Year Award (2007).  She has co-authored two books with Beverley Johns and Adrienne Hunter: Working With Students Who Have Anxiety: Creative Connections and Practical Strategies (2019), and Art for Children Experiencing Psychological Trauma: A Guide for Art Educators and School-Based Professionals (2018). Her recent work (co-authored with Hunter), "Healing Through Creativity: Visual Arts Educators’ Guide" (2021), was published by Scholastic Art and Writing. She has conducted over 100 workshops and presentations at the state, regional, national, and international levels, and has designed and implemented intergenerational art for resilience programs in family emergency shelters, after school programs, and community centers for youth with disabilities.