School of Art Awards Faculty Fellowships to Boost Creativity and Wellness

The U of A School of Art, housed in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has awarded four fellowships in creativity and wellness to U of A faculty across several of the campus' colleges and span a number of programs such as exercise science, engineering, business, literature and visual art. 

The fellowships are part of the School of Art's work to provide access to creativity-based wellness initiatives, building on the school's partnerships with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary, as well as recent developments such as the appointment of the school's first art and wellness strategist, Associate Professor of Graphic Design Bree McMahon. 

Inspired by a growing body of research, the fellowships seek to support projects that demonstrate how creativity improves mental and physical health, reduces stress and anxiety, and increases quality of life. "Well-being looks different for everyone. Creative practices that prioritize wellness can provide adaptable pathways to support physical, emotional and social health," said Marty Maxwell Lane, associate director of the School of Art, associate professor of graphic design and coordinator of the faculty fellowships. She noted that the fellows were selected by a jury for their forward-thinking, community-centered approaches.

2026 Creativity and Wellness Faculty Fellows 

Building a Biometric-Adaptive VR Art Environment for Emotional Regulation 
Tamara Roth (PI), Zach Steelman and Nadia Issa 

Roth, assistant professor in the Information Systems Department in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, will lead the project in collaboration with Walton College Associate Professor Steelman and School of Art Teaching Assistant Professor and Director of the Technology Empowered Storytelling Lab (TESL) Issa. 

Together, they will develop an interactive virtual-reality art environment that uses biometric data to adapt visual elements in real time, helping users regulate stress and emotional states. 

The project creates an immersive digital art space that changes based on a person's physiological signals, allowing them to shape the environment and reduce anxiety in the moment. The work is intended to support people in high-stress settings and explore future applications in health care and education. 

The Art of Wellness: Accelerating Faculty Adoption of Practices to Support Student Well-Being 

Erin Howie Hickey (PI) joined by U of A committee members: 

• Jennifer Veilleux (associate professor of psychological science) 

• Jamie Baum (associate professor and director for the Center for Human Nutrition within the U of A System Division of Agriculture) 

• Michael Niño (associate professor of sociology, vice chair) 

• Kris Allee (Doyle Z. Williams Chair in Professional Accounting) 

• Carl Smith (professor of landscape architecture) 

• Kaitlin Gallagher (associate professor of health, human performance and recreation) 

• Susan Gauch (professor of computer science) 

• Bob Davis (associate vice chancellor for research and innovation) 

• Casy Fant (director of wellness and fitness) 

Erin Howie Hickey, associate professor in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation in the College of Education and Health Professions, will host creative art sessions for faculty and instructors at the U of A to explore what well-being means on campus. 

This project is part of a larger initiative supported by U of A Student Affairs to create a comprehensive toolkit with creative, hands-on activities for faculty to support student well-being in their classes. Through short art workshops in departmental meetings, faculty will create drawings, poems or other visual work, while a series of short videos will demonstrate practical ways to support students in the classroom. Together, these efforts aim to give faculty accessible tools that strengthen connections with students and improve the overall campus environment. 

"Faculty are a critical leverage point for improving student mental health, and this initiative empowers them with practical, accessible strategies to integrate well-being into the classroom," Howie Hickey said. "We anticipate greater faculty awareness, increased use of well-being practices and stronger support for student success and retention." 

Healing Terror With the Arts 
Erika Almenara (PI)

Almenara, associate professor of Spanish and director of the Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies Program in Fulbright College, will research creative and artistic healing resources and techniques offered to women who were members of the terrorist group Shining Path and who are now incarcerated. The project includes a creative writing workshop for a group of 20 women to explore the healing power of the arts. 

"Sharing restorative arts practices incarcerated women who chose to be part of a terrorist group could lead us to a better understanding of the potential art holds in the process of social rehabilitation for them and other women as well," Almenara said. 

As part of the project, she will spend four weeks in Lima, Peru, researching and meeting with scholars and the Peruvian organization Manuela Ramos. These conversations will inform the creative writing workshop and her upcoming monograph on gender perceptions in post-conflict Peru. Almenara believes this work can also be incorporated into her university courses, deploying new creative methods to promote students' wellness. 

Papermaking for Collective Well-being 
Danqi Cai and Ambrin Ling 

Cai, assistant professor of foundations, and Ling, assistant professor of art, will lead a yearlong initiative exploring hand papermaking as a tool for community connection and healing. 

"Papermaking for Collective Well-being brings together faculty, students and Northwest Arkansas communities to explore the therapeutic possibilities of hand papermaking," Cai and Ling noted together. "Through hands-on workshops and lectures by professional papermakers and art therapists, participants transform the fibers of lived experience into sites of healing and connection." 

The project aims to enhance new creative wellness practices and strengthen interdisciplinary student collaboration, while also focusing on youth engagement. The pair is planning their first workshop in April with aims to expand throughout the year and serve a variety of audiences. 

The duo's fall 2026 programming includes a series of four virtual and hybrid lectures by papermakers and art therapists from the Peace Paper Project on papermaking as art therapy, therapeutic art and socially engaged practice; a week of hands-on workshops; and a culminating exhibition and reception.  

During the workshops, participants will create handmade paper from repurposed materials including military uniforms, nurse scrubs and refugee clothing—alongside garments contributed by students and community members—transforming personal histories into collaborative works of art. One lecture will livestream from Tartu, Estonia, connecting U of A students with displaced Ukrainian families engaged in parallel papermaking initiatives.