Hannah Entwisle Chapuisat works at the intersection of international affairs and art. Her current research at CDHM brings international relations theory in dialogue with theories of art to understand how art reflects and shapes international policymaking — and how it can imagine new forms of multilateralism.
A lawyer by training, Hannah began her career at the United Nations with OCHA and UNHCR as a humanitarian coordination and policy officer focusing on displacement in disaster and conflict situations. These roles included extended missions to Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami, Kenya following the 2008 post-election violence, and the Middle East for the Iraqi refugee crisis.
As a law and policy researcher, Hannah co-drafted the 2015 Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda on cross-border disaster displacement endorsed by 109 states and subsequently referenced by numerous UN, regional, and national bodies. She has also authored several studies and written operational guidance for the United Nations addressing humanitarian coordination and internal and cross-border displacement.
As an art curator, Hannah co-founded the project DISPLACEMENT: Uncertain Journeys and has developed policy-oriented art exhibitions at the UN Visitors Center in NYC, UN Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNFCCC COP25, and the Global Forum on Migration and Development.
She has also lectured and co-developed university courses integrating art and policy, including a service learning course at Purdue University-Fort Wayne that explored refugee integration in Indiana, USA.
Hannah holds a PhD in art from the University of the Arts London, a JD in law from the University of Toronto, an MA in critical, curatorial and cybermedia studies from HEAD-Genève, and a BA in peace and global studies from Earlham College.