School Notes: School of Art
September/October 2026

Artists join faculty this fall

Two artists have joined the faculty and begun leadership roles at the school this semester. 

Josephine Halvorson is now the assistant director of graduate studies in painting/printmaking. Halvorson makes art from direct observation, foregrounding the firsthand experience of noticing, describing, and learning from the physical world. Working primarily in painting, as well as sculpture and printmaking, her practice centers attention on an embodied relationship to time and place. She also maintains a writing practice and is currently working on a series of essays about painting from life.

nicole killian joins the faculty as assistant professor and assistant director of graduate studies in graphic design. killian explores the overlaps between publishing, platforms, and pedagogy, with an approach that considers objects as containers for language that get activated when read, passed, held, and handled. Their publishing initiative, nicofontana, focuses on elevating queer and trans people while using publishing as an opportunity to gather. 

New Haven’s third cooling mural

Over the summer, New Haven unveiled its third cooling mural, located on the basketball court at Kimberly Field, adjacent to the Betsy Ross Arts & Design Academy (BRADA). Created with highly reflective paint, the mural reduces surface temperatures on the basketball court, improving comfort and usability.

Designed by Haejin Park ’25MFA (painting/printmaking), the mural is the result of a collaboration between the Hixon Center, in partnership with the Urban Resources Initiative, and with support from Yale School of Art; BRADA; the New Haven parks department; and the New Haven Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism. This project was generously supported through the Neighborhood Cultural Vitality Grant Program and the Yale School of the Environment.