Greetings!
My name is Katherine "Kat" Cheairs. I am an interdisciplinary artist, videomaker, arts administrator, curator, educator, researcher, and community impact leader. I am the founder of Makeda Arts, Inc., and the Makeda School for Art, Media, and Humanities, an alternative learning space for small-group workshops and seminars on Black studies and Black feminist and queer theory. Additionally, I have designed, implemented, and taught numerous programs in digital filmmaking, media, and interdisciplinary arts at the K-12, higher education, and adult learning levels. These programs have reached hundreds of individuals in Atlanta, GA, New York City, and beyond. I also have over 15 years of experience as an artist and filmmaker, and over 20 years of experience in non-profit and educational organizations.
My work as a curator primarily utilizes archival research as it relates to HIV/AIDS and its impact on women of color and the Black community. I am the co-curator of Metanoia: Transformation Through AIDS Archives and Activism, an archival exhibition presented in New York City in 2019 and Los Angeles, CA, in 2020 at the intersection of women and HIV/AIDS prison activism, as well as the curator of Inside/Out: AIDS Prison Activism and Peer Organizing (2023). I am also the producer and director of the short documentary Ending Silence, Shame & Stigma: HIV/AIDS in the African American Family (2012), a sensitive work about the impact of HIV/AIDS in the Black community. Additionally, I am the producer and director of the Visual AIDS: Day With(out) Art 2021 commissioned video, Voices at the Gate (2021).
When teaching filmmaking and media production, I encourage experimentation and for participants to mine their personal narratives for greater connection to themselves and others. I see myself as a facilitator on behalf of the participant, trusting that, through technical proficiency and open creativity, each person locates their personal voice and translates it through moving-image media. Additionally, I frequently serve as a moderator and panelist for screenings and talkbacks on media, arts, representation, and HIV & AIDS artistic activism. I have appeared on panels and presented at the Tribeca Film Institute, BAM, Pratt Institute, The New School, NYU, Vassar College, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Poster House, The Aperture Foundation, Whitney Museum of American Art, UnionDocs, and many more. Areas of additional interest and research include arts-based research; spirituality in qualitative research; visual culture; visual ethnography; critical pedagogy; AIDS video activism; archival activism and preservation; and media and community arts. I hold a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and a Certificate in Community Health from Tufts University. I am currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Art and Art Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. I was born in Buffalo, NY, grew up in Atlanta, GA, and now reside in Harlem, NYC. I am a Joan Tisch Teaching Fellow at the Whitney Museum of American Art and proudly serve on the board of Visual AIDS.
My work as a curator primarily utilizes archival research as it relates to HIV/AIDS and its impact on women of color and the Black community. I am the co-curator of Metanoia: Transformation Through AIDS Archives and Activism, an archival exhibition presented in New York City in 2019 and Los Angeles, CA, in 2020 at the intersection of women and HIV/AIDS prison activism, as well as the curator of Inside/Out: AIDS Prison Activism and Peer Organizing (2023). I am also the producer and director of the short documentary Ending Silence, Shame & Stigma: HIV/AIDS in the African American Family (2012), a sensitive work about the impact of HIV/AIDS in the Black community. Additionally, I am the producer and director of the Visual AIDS: Day With(out) Art 2021 commissioned video, Voices at the Gate (2021).
When teaching filmmaking and media production, I encourage experimentation and for participants to mine their personal narratives for greater connection to themselves and others. I see myself as a facilitator on behalf of the participant, trusting that, through technical proficiency and open creativity, each person locates their personal voice and translates it through moving-image media. Additionally, I frequently serve as a moderator and panelist for screenings and talkbacks on media, arts, representation, and HIV & AIDS artistic activism. I have appeared on panels and presented at the Tribeca Film Institute, BAM, Pratt Institute, The New School, NYU, Vassar College, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Poster House, The Aperture Foundation, Whitney Museum of American Art, UnionDocs, and many more. Areas of additional interest and research include arts-based research; spirituality in qualitative research; visual culture; visual ethnography; critical pedagogy; AIDS video activism; archival activism and preservation; and media and community arts. I hold a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and a Certificate in Community Health from Tufts University. I am currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Art and Art Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. I was born in Buffalo, NY, grew up in Atlanta, GA, and now reside in Harlem, NYC. I am a Joan Tisch Teaching Fellow at the Whitney Museum of American Art and proudly serve on the board of Visual AIDS.