Olivia Adams

“I'm excited for the conversations and discussions that will develop throughout the year and how we will all become stronger artists by learning from one another...I hope I will learn discipline in my craft and ways to draw inspiration during bleak times.” Read more about Olivia Adams...

Courtney Joseph

“I’m most excited to be surrounded by people who can further ignite my passion and allow me to make the change I’ve been wanting…We should be elaborating on the intersections of marginalization, exploring how we can normalize diversity rather than emphasizing it.” Read more about Courtney Joseph...

Ava Olson

“I’ve always had a passion for meaningful social activism, and I’m super excited to be a part of such a supportive, unique team that is collaboratively striving for a more inclusive and equitable future for both Wesleyan students and Middletown residents alike.” Read more about Ava Olson...

Sacha Armstrong-Crockett

“Black storytellers have always provided an example of what healing justice can look like…Although there is no one way to live a Black life, there is a shared experience we can't deny...I'm very interested in fostering Black expression without inserting white definitions of our humanity.” Read more about Sacha Armstrong-Crockett...

Kerry Kincy

“I am most fascinated by the effects of systematic inequality formed by race in individuals and collectively in communities. The ability to utilize the arts to communicate the experience of racism is weaved into my work within different populations of invisible people. Art is paramount in generating deeper connections to self and an awareness for the experiences of others. Art affords equitable power sharing.” Read more about Kerry Kincy...

Barbara McClane

“My artistic interest is in capturing each unique personality. I have been fortunate enough to put that artistry to work on behalf of showcasing members of our local BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Using my talent to serve others; building collective power through visibility; and volunteering in ways that bring joy and wellness to the communities I belong to is both important to me and crucial to my own growth and development." Read more about Barbara McClane...

Karl Boulware, Assistant Professor of Economics

"As an African American man in the U.S. I have spent my entire existence studying, interacting with, and deconstructing the legacy of racism in the world and within myself. What excites me most about being a part of this fellowship is the opportunity to continue this work, but as a part of a collaborative through the arts where I get to be a representative of the economics profession and its quantitative methods." Read more about Karl Boulware, Assistant Professor of Economics...

Maria-Christina Oliveras, Assistant Professor of Theater

"This fellowship [will] support my deep desire to affect change in whatever rooms I am in—whether it be on stage, in the classroom, rehearsal, among my fellow colleagues, among other 'woke' folks, in rooms where I am the only BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] woman—I crave the skills to better communicate, to facilitate empathy, and to navigate holding my ground, while genuinely listening and being open. I am particularly eager to explore code shifting, micro-aggressions in pre-dominantly white worlds, and the conversation between classical forms of theater and pedagogy and the contemporary world." Read more about Maria-Christina Oliveras, Assistant Professor of Theater...

Iddi Saaka, Assistant Professor of Dance

“I believe in the power of dance to galvanize individuals and communities to tackle ills in society, empower the marginalized, and question authority. It is ever so important for us to continue to dialogue in myriad ways about the many problems that rear their ugly heads in our communities and institutions of power and I believe dance remains a powerful force in doing so…I seek to use dance to interrogate issues of race and racism that cut across all facets of American society.” Read more about Iddi Saaka, Assistant Professor of Dance...

Tracy Heather Strain, Chair and Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, and Co-Director of the Wesleyan Documentary Project

"I am excited to engage in community building with a diverse set of storytellers and thinkers committed to antiracism goals and civic engagement because it is something I’ve craved since I ended my tenure at Blackside after the death of its founder Henry Hampton." Read more about Tracy Heather Strain, Chair and Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, and Co-Director of the Wesleyan Documentary Project...

Ryan Dobrin

“I am a theater practitioner, deeply interested in unilateral mentorship, shared leadership, flexible processes, human-first practices, and in the re-interrogation of dramaturgically-sound spectacle…The work I choose to engage with…often asks questions of morality and our place in the world.” Read more about Ryan Dobrin...

Jerome Haferd

“As a Black, mixed race, and LGBTQ+, my practice of architectural and urban design, teaching, research, and advocacy seeks the transformation of design practice through the lens of Land, Blackness, Indigeneity, and other historically marginalized subjects and modes of cultural and spatial production. This expanded practice includes innovative collaborations and curricular engagements in sites and with communities outside the mainstream 'canon' of architecture.” Read more about Jerome Haferd...

nia love

“Black feminist thought and critical engagement with love are the foundation of my daily practice. I cultivate a domestic space that anchors me, inspired by the work of Black feminist scholars…I am intent on Black intimacy, Black love, Black family and care, that are NOT mediated by capital and violence, working to always expand our notions of art, blackness, family, and freedom.” Read more about nia love...