Artists at Work Award Recognizes Tucson Artist Katrina Kerstetter

Jun 30, 2025 11:00AM ● By Suzie Agrillo

Katrina Kerstetter with a Group of Art Students

Mixed media artist Katrina Kerstetter is a heart warrior of the first order, who uses her skills to empower others less fortunate than her. Kerstetter has been named one of only 24 recipients across the country to be chosen by The FreshGrass Foundation and THE OFFICE performing arts + film as an artist selected for their Artists At Work (AAW) National Workforce Resilience Program in 2025-2026.

Kerstetter’s innovative volunteer work for the Iskashitaa Refugee Network put her on the path that led to her selection as an AAW grantee. Through storytelling, books, discussions and art, her work provides a voice for people of all ages from around the world. She teaches at the Refugee Garden Art Project (RGAP), which is held every Wednesday morning. Through RGAP, refugees and asylum seekers are able to find their own voice through visual art and storytelling. This experience gives attendees three hours a week of community engagement and personal development away from the worries and realities of the “real world.”

A self-taught artist, Kerstetter doesn’t like to work on white paper. She uses mixed media, combining reused papers and canvases on which she blends paints, markers, colored pencils, collaging and recycled items. She frequently uses repetitive patterns. Her visual voice evolves through exposure to and ongoing studies of native, aboriginal and outsider art. Her art helps with her work in communities that are often invisible, as an inspirational tool for herself and others.

Kerstetter is passionate about making the world a better place. She spent 20 years in South Korea, five of them on Jeju Island, where she and her cohort Mia Lee co-founded Koru Library. While there, they also began to teach English through mindful learning skills and the exposure to cultures and art from around the world. A native of Louisiana, Kerstetter was raised in Tucson. She returned here a few years ago and opened a second branch of the library in Tucson, this one as a nonprofit.

Feeling elated, honored and surprised at receiving this prestigious award, Kerstetter is excited that the funds will enable her to give back even more to our community. She is cognizant that we are all in this together—and we believe she is a local hero whose recognition is well deserved and long overdue.

What is the Artists At Work program?

Artists At Work is a national workforce resilience program, in the spirit of the Works Progress Administration, that supports artists and their communities through artistic civic engagement. AAW leverages the creativity of artists to address pressing issues in their local communities. I was selected along with three other artists in Tucson—24 total in the U.S. for the initiative’s 2025-2026 program.

These 24 artists will receive salaries, employment benefits, and wrap-around services for 18 months. AAW provides artists with W-2 employment, health benefits, and access to retirement benefits. It supports local cultural and community organizations to host and work with those artists as key contributors to the well-being of their local communities.

How will the funding this award provides allow you to expand your art workshops in the community?

The AAW program will afford me the opportunity to create my own art. It will help my work with the Iskashitaa Refugee Network and the Refugee Garden Art Program (RGAP) to develop and grow, as we have been limited in what we can achieve due to lack of funding.

How did you get involved with Iskashitaa Refugee Network?

I contacted them three years ago when I started the Koru Library to see if I could help the refugees by teaching English. They informed me that their mission was food security. I was interested in learning more about gardening and desert plants, so I decided to volunteer for the RGAP. In addition to growing food in the garden, the volunteers make preserves and harvest fruit from trees around town, fruit that would otherwise go to waste.

Do you have any success stories to share about the refugees you help?

When I started volunteering most of the adult refugees were not interested in books, because they come from communities that don’t have libraries with books—they come from a culture of storytelling. Some of them have been in camps for 20 years before they came here, so they didn’t have the opportunity to read books.

I noticed that a lot of the refugees would do the art projects, but they wouldn’t pick up the books, so I incorporated wordless picture books. After a couple of years, I saw a few of the older refugees secretly looking at the books. They have gradually overcome their fear of reading and now they pick up the books all the time. Seeing them read has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me—that touches my heart.

What type of art projects does an attendee make at events at the art garden?

Murals on buildings; directional signs on planks with their country’s flags and information; painting watercolors; building and decorating a space for books in the garden; and game days, where we share games from their countries and ours.

What is involved with your work at Koru Library in Tucson?

With Koru Library, I do contract work at schools, libraries and organizations. I host art-making events and camps with people of all ages and cultures. We gather, read and share picture books and engage in storytelling. This inspires us to create. We translate for and inspire each other. We are a lending library, so you can check out books.

Storytelling is often unequal, and those with limited means, or those in marginalized pockets of society have fewer opportunities to share their stories. It’s important to me that all people have the opportunity to share their stories, which will, in the end, enrich all of society.

What is your philosophy of life that guides you?
Everything is leading to something else. Today is just a chapter. I believe that previous events happened for a reason, whether they were positive or they were trials and tribulations. I just keep thinking, “You can get through this.” I’ve found that things always work out for the best.

Where do you like to eat in Tucson? Favorite restaurants?

I like Rosa’s Mexican Food. And, I’ve been hitting on Bonchon on 4th Avenue, for Korean fried chicken—it’s close to the Historic Y, and my house.

What books have you read recently?

I just finished reading “The One and Only Ivan,” by Katherine Applegate for a class. I also recently read “The Creative Act: A Way of Being,” by Rick Rubin; and “The Badass Librarians of Timbuktu,” by Joshua Hammer.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Get to know the people around you. Everyone has gifts to offer society: abilities, talents, passion, dreams, language, hopes and stories. We’re all in this together and it really does take all kinds. Finally, please keep an eye on the kids. Their eyes are on the adults around them. They’re watching us for education and inspiration. Like it or not, we as adults are setting the example for kids. They rarely get to make the big choices on their own, so it’s up to us to take care of them and keep them in mind as we make choices around our communities and society.

Connect with Katrina Kerstetter at [email protected].

Suzie Agrillo is a freelance writer in Tucson and a frequent contributor to Natural Awakenings. She focuses on writing about the arts, inspirational people, and the human connection. Connect at [email protected].

Artist Katrina Kerstetter [8 Images] Click Any Image To Expand