Distinguished scholar named ETSU’s Basler Chair

Dr. Caro Novella, a respected scholar and artist, is playing an important role at ETSU this spring.

Dr. Caro Novella, a respected scholar and artist, is serving as the Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence for the Integration of the Arts, Rhetoric and Science during the spring 2024 semester.

It is a prestigious university post held by a range of scholars since the 1990s, highlighting the intersection of the arts, sciences and humanities.

With a distinguished career that intersects experimental dance and feminist queer crip activism and scholarship, Novella will enrich the academic and local community with innovative approaches to health justice. Novella engages research-creation to explore medical questions with communities.

Since 2011, Novella has turned cancer discomfort into collective artistic inquiry with the project “oncogrrrls” (oncogrrrls.art), working with dozens of cancer patients and medical professionals in Spain and North America. Novella has been invited to the Queer Arts Center at Stanford University as an artist-scholar exploring creative process to hold transformation, and their most current work investigates the emerging field of arts in health and the benefits of creative process for medical practitioners. 

Novella will host a range of free public events over the next few months:

• Through the end of the semester, Novella’s exhibit, “What if we treat cancer as Creative Research?”, is housed at the Sherrod Library on the first floor.
• On March 20, Novella will lead a showroom of practices and talks called “Arts in Health: Making Vital Signs Otherwise.” The event will be in the D.P. Culp Student Center’s East Tennessee Room from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
• On March 22, there will be an event titled “On Fermentation as a Practice of Restoring the Cycle of Life/Death” with visiting artist and scholar Stephanie Maroney at the Sherrod Library from 1:45-4:30 p.m.
• On April 4, visiting artist Ruth Douthright will host “Folk Dances and Ecologies of Care.” The time and location will be announced.
• On April 5, Kevin O’Connor will lead “Improvisation as a Practice of Care.” The time and location will be announced.
• On April 19, a workshop titled “On Trust as a Practice of Care” is scheduled in the Sherrod Library from 1:45-4:30 p.m.
• On April 23, they will lead an online event called “Arts in Health: Care Practices for Building Medical Trust.” The time and location will be announced.

Novella’s work has garnered international acclaim, with her projects appearing at prestigious exhibitions and festivals worldwide. She has received substantial support from numerous art grants and residency fellowships, reflecting her work’s broad impact and significance.

Learn more about Novella here, as well as keep up with the latest events.