College of Fine Arts News
Faculty, Alumni, & Student Highlights
Assistant Professor, Amanda Curreri’s, Newest Exhibition “Liber Floridus”
Congratulations to Assistant Professor and graduate director Amanda Curreri, who, along with multimedia artist Andy Ness, created the exhibition Liber Floridus presented by the Wege Gallery. Curreri contributed woven textile-based works, while Ness contributed...
Engaged Practices, Professor Subhankar Banerjee’s Showcase, looking at Nature Journaling as Pedagogy
Congratulations to Professor Subhankar Banerjee, whose classes “Introduction to Art and Ecology” and “Biodiversity, Creative Practice, Justice” explored nature journaling as both a visual and literary practice, culminating in a showcase last week. Banerjee, Art professor and founder and director of the Center for Environmental Arts & Humanities, described the motivation behind the project as creating “to have an alternative outlet to engage, not only a class project, but for their own life, and their own journey of learning at UNM,” particularly in the context of students living in “the digital space.” He further says, “Teens, as well as young adults, are spending increasingly more time on the internet.
Art MFA Student, Hanna Brody, featured in The New York Times
Art MFA student, Hanna Brody, recently completed a painting for author T Kira Māhealani Madden that was featured in The New York Times. Her book, titled “Somebody Killed Her Assailant. Was Justice Served?” has a featured review written by Catherine Chidgey and original art by UNM MFA student Hanna Brody.
Analisa Peña awarded Hulsman Undergraduate Library Research Award’s Emerging Researcher
Congratulations to Analisa Peña, who was selected as the 1st place winner in the 2026 Hulsman Undergraduate Library Research Award’s Emerging Researcher category regarding her work, The Many Faces of Christ: Understanding ‘Trifacial Trinity’ by Gregorio Vasquez Arce y Ceballos.
Principal Art Lecturer, Jessamyn Lovell, receiving fellowship at the MacDowell Artist Residency
MacDowell, the nation’s first artist residency program, has awarded 134 Fellowships to visionary artists working across seven disciplines for its Spring Summer 2026 season. The program is located in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Between March and August of 2026, each artist has an average stay of four weeks. These artists were selected from a competitive pool of 2,618 applicants with an acceptance rate of only 5 percent.
UNM Theatre Takes on Beckett
The worlds of Samuel Beckett are stark. Poetic. And meticulously choreographed. Beckett plays have lived long past him because while they are particular and abstract, they are also deeply human. Alejandro Tomás Rodriguez, director of the upcoming show Ashes. Short...
Honoring the Legacy of Jaune Quick-to-see Smith Panel Discussion led by Art & Ecology Professor and Author Subhnakar Banerjee
Subhankar Banerjee, a professor, photographer, writer, curator, and scholar of environmental humanities. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Environmental Arts & Humanities at UNM.
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.
UNM Dance Blends Styles in “Highways and Heartbeats” Faculty Concert
Highways and Heartbeats brings together contemporary, flamenco, and hip-hop in a powerful evening of collaboration and artistic growth. Featuring guest artist Ana “Rokafella” Garcia and an inspiring lineup of choreographers, this year’s UNM Faculty Dance Concert celebrates connection, community, and the evolution of movement across styles.
MFA in Dramatic Writing Students Present New Plays
The UNM Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to present the Linnell Festival of New
Plays Spring Reading Series February 12th through February 14th in the Experimental Theatre.
Stephanie Woods sculpture acquired by Perry Art Collection
Stephanie J. Woods’ sculpture Never Quite, Sweet Enough I was acquired by the nationally recognized Perry Art Collection following her 2025 residency at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. The work explores memory, legacy, and historical survival through an abstract porcelain form rooted in Black cultural history.
Dr. Peter Gilbert Honored with UNM Research and Creative Works Leadership Award
Dr. Dr. Peter Gilbert, Associate Professor of Theory & Composition in the UNM Department of Music, has been named a recipient of the prestigious Research and Creative Works Leadership Award at the University of New Mexico.
Professor Ana Alonso-Minutti Receives Ovation Award
Dr. Ana Alonso-Minutti, Professor of Musicology, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 OVPR Ovation Award for Research and Scholarship. This prestigious recognition, presented by the Office of the Vice President for Research at The University of New Mexico, honors full-time faculty whose recent accomplishments demonstrate exceptional impact, address pressing local or global challenges, and elevate UNM’s standing on national and international stages.
Kaitlin Bryson Selected for 2026 Cohort for Monument Lab Re:Generation!
Congratulations to Kaitlin Bryson for being selected to take part in the 2026 cohort for Monument Lab Re:Generation! She received a $100,000 grant for her ongoing project, Bellow Forth. Bellow Forth is a community project focused on restoring soil health and environmental resiliency through storytelling and collaboration, community and ecosystem science, and social art practice in wildfire-impacted lands and communities in northern New Mexico.
Alum Highlight: Eric-Paul Riege Receives 2025 Trellis Art Fund Grant
Eric-Paul Riege, a Gallup-based Diné artist and recent UNM graduate, has been recognized as a 2025 Stepping Stone Grantee by the Trellis Art Fund. His multidisciplinary practice uses weaving as both process and philosophy, blending ancestral knowledge, spirituality, and contemporary art to create works that are living, mobile, and deeply connected to cultural memory.
Neon Forge: Expanding Immersive Art Through NASA-Funded VR Innovation
Congratulations to MFA graduate student Ella Pigg and undergraduate student Finn Ellis on the success of their project, Neon Forge.
UNM Theatre and Dance Faculty Member Sara Curran Ice accepted to 2026 OISTAT India Research Trip
The Department of Theatre and Dance would like to congratulate costume designer and UNM Faculty member Sara Curran Ice on her acceptance to the 2026 OISTAT India Research Trip. Ice is one of the eight participants chosen, four of whom are from the United States, to experience the textiles and practices of South India as it relates to the rich and dynamic performing arts in the region.
Art MFA Alum Kerry Cottle Builds a Career Blending Material and Meaning
Kerry Cottle, a 2022 graduate of the University of New Mexico’s Art MFA program, is emerging as a compelling voice in contemporary painting, with exhibitions across California and a studio practice grounded in material experimentation, abstraction, and sustainability....
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.