College of Fine Arts News
Faculty, Alumni, & Student HighlightsCovington-Rhode Senior Prize Winners: Viola Murphy and Josiah Garza
The UNM Department of Art is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Covington-Rhode Senior Prize.
Albuquerque Journal Highlights MFA Student, Sarah Bennett-Davidson
The Department of Art at UNM is proud to share that Sarah Bennett-Davidson, an MFA student at the University of New Mexico, has been featured in a recent Albuquerque Journal article reviewed by Logan Royce Beitmen. “Interference” at Bingo Art Studios and...
UNM Art History Student Selected for Competitive Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Internship
The Art History program at UNM emphasizes the study of visual art as a means of understanding the intellectual and cultural history of humanity. The program provides a firm grounding in art history and covers a geographical and chronological range of art history....
‘Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas,’ Volume XVI, Fall 2024, Now Available!
“Hemisphere” is an annual publication produced by graduate students affiliated with the Department of Art at The University of New Mexico.
UNM graduate’s documentary nominated for Sports Emmy
Fritz Bitsoie holds many titles – father, husband, Diné/Navajo filmmaker, cultural storyteller, and now, Emmy-nominated film director.
Subhankar Banerjee Leads in Environmental Arts & Humanities
Subhankar Banerjee, professor in the UNM Department of Art, is a photographer, writer, curator, and environmental humanities scholar. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Environmental Arts & Humanities at UNM.
On Earth Day, the Center opened a small exhibition of Banerjee’s work, “BioDiversity,” at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton. After being on display for a year, the full contents of the“BioDiversity” exhibit will become part of the permanent archive at the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center at IAS.
UNM Musicology Celebrates 10 Years
By Melissa Ríos, UNM Musicology Graduate Student & Musicology Research Assistant April 2025 April 17th marked the celebration of a decade of musicology at UNM. To celebrate the occasion, Dr. Heidi Jensen, who was the first graduate of the revamped program in 2015,...
Evany López Receives UISFL Award for Undergraduate Research
Art History student, Evany López was awarded an Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Research (UISFL) Award to support summer travel to Mexico.
Susan Deese-Roberts Outstanding Teaching Assistants of the Year Awards
Two graduate students here at the UNM Art Department are being honored with the Susan Deese-Roberts Outstanding Teaching Assistants of the Year Award!
Faculty Spotlight – Professor Gigi Yu: Continuing to bring Reggio Emilia model of Italy to UNM’s art education program
The UNM College of Fine Arts congratulates Dr. Gigi Schroeder Yu, Assistant Professor of Art Education in the Department of Art, on a remarkable series of scholarly accomplishments that highlight her leadership and expertise in the field of art education.
A Step into the Shadows: Ghost Sonata Haunts the Stage
The Student and Colonel’s Daughter are locked in a vice-grip, their hands glued to each other’s heads, rotating around, dipping and swirling, as it appears some great force has overtaken both. How can something be violent and tender? The Daughter is fighting something within that is about to burst out, and the Student is helping her keep it at bay. Eventually, the unknown force wins.
Emma Ressel Post-Doc Fellowship Awardee for Center for Regional Studies and More!
Emma Ressel (b. Bar Harbor, ME) is an artist working with large format film photography to make still life images with natural history collections. Her images aim to complicate the boundaries between dead versus alive, nature versus artifice, and beauty versus the grotesque. She is currently collaborating with biologists to problematize ideas around animal preservation and explore how science processes and institutions reveal our desire for proximity with nature.
Voces del Pueblo: Artists of the Levantamiento Chicano in New Mexico
Professor Ray Hernández-Durán and Dr. Irene Vasquez are leading a groundbreaking project documenting first-generation New Mexican Chicana/o activism. The initiative includes an art exhibition, catalog, events, and an evolving archive, highlighting a pivotal movement in New Mexico’s history. The exhibition debuts April 25, 2025, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
“The Human Body’s Digital Echo” – An Artist Talk by Kelsey Paschich
The 2025 New Mexico Dance Hackathon is pleased to announce an artist talk by multidisciplinary dance artist Kelsey Paschich, taking place on April 25, 2025 at UNM ARTSLab.
Southwest Contemporary features UNM College of Fine Arts Graduate Student’s MFA Thesis Show, “The Hyperlocal: Jess Lanham”
Since the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fires, Jess Lanham has been creating work about the stark changes in her hometown of Las Vegas, New Mexico, using fragments and wildfire ash.
Native American Environmental Arts & Humanities 2024-2025 Scholarship Recipients
The UNM Center for Environmental Arts & Humanities (CEAH) in the Department of Art is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024-2025 Native American Environmental Arts and Humanities Scholarship for undergraduate students. There are seven recipients this...
Hank Rogerson Guest Stars in new Netflix show “Pulse”
Hank Rogerson takes on the role of a firefighter and victim of a gas explosion in “Pulse,” Netflix’s first English-language medical procedural, which will be released on April 3, 2025.
An Engaging Talk with Frederick Hammersley Visiting Artist Larry Madrigal: Upcoming Workshops and More!
On February 20, 2025, painter Larry Madrigal gave an inspiring artist talk at the Albuquerque Museum as part of the Frederick Hammersley Visiting Artist program. After the presentation, Madrigal held a Q&A session with the audience, offering insights into his creative process and artistic journey.
Announcing Tamarind Institute’s Felsen/Johnson Memorial Scholarship
Tamarind Institute at The University of New Mexico has partnered with Chris Fox to establish a new endowed scholarship for its students, The Felsen/Johnson Memorial Scholarship.
UNM Theatre and Dance Hosts Dance Historian and Scholar Clare Croft March 7th
The UNM Dance Program welcomes dance scholar and historian Clare Croft to Albuquerque. Croft, in addition to being a dance theorist, curator, dramaturg, and dancer, has written on the role dance plays in cultural exchange and diplomacy as well as a focus on Jill...
How to Apply
• All students must be admitted to the University, whether as an incoming freshman, transfer student, or non-degree student. Apply online through the Admissions Department at UNM
•After meeting all CFA admission requirements, students must apply to become a declared major.
Academic Advisement
The College of Fine Arts Student Success & Advisement Center is committed to serve the UNM community with compassion, guidance, and respect as we promote academic excellence.
To speak with a CFA advisor, please call (505) 277-4817.