Madison Reporter

Each fall, the Chazen Museum of Art brings in new graduate students to fill key roles that support its mission of connecting people and art through teaching, research, and community programming.

For the 2025–26 academic year, three graduate scholars—Tarah Connolly, Richard Ellis, and Xiaoyan Jiang—have joined the museum as a public engagement fellow and project assistants. Their responsibilities include developing digital resources, creating gallery interpretation materials, facilitating class visits, and assisting with curatorial projects. These students have backgrounds in education, art history, and interdisciplinary museum practice.

Chief Engagement Officer Berit Ness commented on their contributions: “The work of our project assistants and engagement fellow is so important to the Chazen’s mission. They not only strengthen our capacity to serve students, faculty, and the public, but also enrich our team with fresh ideas, research expertise, and a spirit of curiosity.”

Tarah Connolly is a third-year PhD candidate in curriculum and instruction at the School of Education. She is starting her dissertation on museum education with a focus on children’s museums. At the Chazen Museum of Art, she will collaborate with Ness to design interactive spaces for reinstalled permanent collection galleries and develop new guides for visitors. Her position is co-supported by UW–Madison’s Center for the Humanities.

Connolly said about her career interests: “I see myself pursuing a variety of career paths related to museum education, but I value being at the intersection of research and practice. An academic museum is the right place to explore that.” She added: “I’m looking forward to prototyping ideas with visitors and developing ways to spark curiosity in the niches, hallways, and mezzanines of the museum.”

Richard Ellis joins as an academic engagement project assistant while working toward his PhD in art history. He will collaborate with Ness and Academic Coordinator Mieke Miller to facilitate university class visits using visual thinking strategies tailored for instructors’ learning goals.

Ellis explained: “This role provides me with hands-on experience leading educational programming that is integral to the mission of the Chazen, and it directly relates to my career goals of becoming both a museum professional and an educator.” He also said: “I’m really looking forward to collaborating with students and instructors from other fields to discover new ways of engaging with objects in the museum’s collection.”

Xiaoyan Jiang returns for another year as a project assistant while entering her third year as a PhD student in art history. Her area of expertise includes twentieth-century European visual culture focused on German modernism. At Chazen Museum of Art she will work closely with Chief Curator Katherine Alcauskas along with other curatorial staff on reinstalling permanent collection galleries through research projects supporting exhibition development.

Alcauskas remarked: “We’re thrilled to have Xiaoyan return for a second year as a project assistant. With her knowledge of German, Chinese, and Russian, Xiaoyan has made invaluable contributions to our understanding of the artworks in our collection and their interpretation.”

Jiang reflected on her dual focus this year: “This work allows me to engage with a wide range of objects and narratives, expanding both my scholarly perspective and the scope of my research.”