New Film & Digital Arts scholarship at UNM
The Department of Film & Digital Arts within the College of Fine Arts at The University of New Mexico announces the first scholarship specifically for the Department, created to support Indigenous Native Students, and a new course titled Indigenous People on Screen.
Tara Gatewood, former host of Native America Calling, and instructor of the new course, Indigenous People on Screen.
Indigenous People on Screen will be taught by Tara Gatewood, the former host of Native America Calling. Gatewood is an award-winning, veteran journalist and an enrolled citizen of the Pueblo of Isleta/Diné. Additionally, she is the director of the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists Reporting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People and hosts of Indigenous Foundation, a music and public affairs program heard on Santa Fe New Mexico’s KSFR 101.1 FM.
In addition, Gatewood is a community curator/co-curator Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery, a rare exhibition curated by the Native American communities it represents, sponsored by the Pueblo Pottery Collective. Grounded in Clay was recently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
This year’s scholarships and the new course were funded by a generous gift from UNM alumna Katrina Parks, who said, “The Bertha Drabkin Goodwin Leviton Foundation is excited to support this scholarship in honor of its founder, my great aunt Bertha, who was an educator, and my grandmother Gladys, who worked as a nurse on the Navajo Reservation. One of Gladys’ areas of focus was eye health, and so we are extending the idea of vision beyond the physical to support American Indian film and digital art makers’ visions.”
Those wishing to learn more about the UNM College of Fine Arts and the Department of Film and Digital Arts, please visit the website. Those wishing to contribute tax-deductible gifts to this scholarship fund may contact Shelly Smith, director of Development, UNM Fine Arts at shelly.smith@unmfund.org.
New Film & Digital Arts scholarship at UNM
TO LEARN MORE about Department of Film & Digital Arts scholarships, please visit
https://film.unm.edu/current-students/scholarships/
Principal Art Lecturer, Jessamyn Lovell, Featured in LENSSCRATCH
Jessamyn Lovell is a gender-fluid artist and licensed private investigator based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They hold a BFA from Rochester Institute of Technology, an MFA from California College of the Arts, and are currently a Principal Lecturer at the University of New Mexico.
Why future film students choose UNM Film and Digital Arts
Moviemaker Magazine ranked Albuquerque among the top five large cities as the best place to live and work for filmmakers for the eighth consecutive year in 2026. Moviemaker Magazine is a leading industry publication. The announcement came after recognizing and...
Art History Professor, Ray Hernández-Durán, Named Regents’ Professor
Ray Hernández-Durán, professor of art history in UNM’s Department of Art & Art History in the College of Fine Arts, has been named a Regents’ Professor, a distinguished and lifelong honor recognizing senior faculty members who demonstrate excellence in teaching, research, and community impact. The title is awarded following a rigorous review process led by the College Dean in collaboration with the Provost’s Office and includes a three-year stipend to support the recipient’s work.