MFA ceramics student Bianka Groves De La Cruz is gaining recognition for her thoughtful and patient approach to ceramics. She is currently featured in the “The Line” exhibition, September 4–26, 2026, which showcases artists who use line work to explore...
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.
Vice President for Research Dr. Ellen R. Fisher praised Professor Alonso-Minutti’s scholarship, noting that her work draws international attention to UNM’s exemplary fine arts programs and leadership in Latin American studies, while reflecting the world-class research taking place across the university.
The award ceremony was held at George Pearl Hall on November 12, coinciding with the PI Reception as part of UNM Research & Discovery Week. During the ceremony, Assistant Vice President for Research Dr. Melissa Emery Thompson highlighted the impact of Professor Alonso-Minutti’s book, Mario Lavista: Mirrors of Sounds, noting that it “has earned rave reviews for its innovative interpretations of the ways that music creates a social space that reflects the rich cultural context of the time.” She added that Professor Alonso-Minutti received a prestigious award from the American Musicological Society for the book, which was hailed as a “tour de force.”
The Department of Music and the College of Fine Arts congratulate Professor Alonso-Minutti on this well-deserved honor and celebrate her continued contributions to scholarship, creativity, and the advancement of UNM’s mission.
Welcoming Postdoc Afrooz Partovi to CFA
Afrooz Partovi is an artist-architect who explores intangible dimensions of time and space through immersive technologies and time-based media.
250 Years of Survival: Art Alum and Professor Eric Garcia’s New Mural
The first thing that hits you about Eric Garcia’s new mural at the Albuquerque Museum, “Since 1776…”, is the sheer size of it. I wanted to first play with the architecture,” Garcia said during the ceremony devoted to him, his team and the mural itself. “I wanted to do something that no one had done before. I wanted to go bigger.”


