Student curators reveal a new piece for the Harnett Museum of Art
University News
Senior Malena Lo Prete felt torn between pursuing a career in art or one in international diplomacy and public service. Last year, she applied to be part of an annual art acquisition trip to New York City. “I told myself, if I get it, I’m going all in, and I’m going to use this trip to help me decide if this career path is right for me.”
Lo Prete, who is double-majoring in art history and political science, was one of 10 students selected to spend an art-focused week in New York City last spring, visiting galleries and museums and meeting with alumni and art professionals. At the end of the week, the students advocated for their favorite artwork. The winning piece, Neo-Indeo, Cakchi Lana Caliente, p29 from Indigenous Woman, by Martine Gutierrez, was purchased and unveiled at the Harnett Museum of Art on Sept. 11.
Curator of Museum Programs Heather Campbell, who organized the unveiling, attended the trip, then in its second year. “Not only are the students seeing and learning about art, but they are learning about people on the business side, what they do, and how they got there,” Campbell said. “They learn that careers in art are not linear, and that there are many different paths.”
Martine Gutierrez. Neo-Indeo, Cakchi Lana Caliente, p29 from Indigenous Woman. 2018
Behind-the-scenes look
During the trip, the students, along with three Harnett staff members and Provost Joan Saab, received a behind-the-scenes look at five museums and eight galleries. They met six alumni working in the art field and visited an art advisor in her high-rise apartment overlooking Central Park. The apartment was filled with contemporary art.
Senior art history major Paige Pryor particularly enjoyed meeting Ryan Lee Gallery co-owner Jeffrey Lee, who shared the Gutierrez photograph and other works with the group. “His passion and deep knowledge of the artists was contagious. I can still picture his smile as we asked questions and grew curious about the works,” Pryor said.
At the beginning of the trip, Campbell provided the students with a list of 25 pieces from five different artists preselected by the University Museums staff. They conducted research in preparation for asking questions when they viewed the works in person. Works were preselected by Issa Lampe, executive director of University Museums, who organized the trip, and Orianna Cacchione, deputy director and curator of exhibitions.
On the last day of the trip, each student pitched their favorite work of art to the group. An anonymous vote was held to decide which artwork would be purchased. The favorite selections were whittled down to three. At first, Alexandra Gramuglia, who later graduated in 2025 with a degree in art history and leadership studies, was the only one to pitch the Gutierrez photograph, but not long after, she was able to convince others to vote for it.
“For me, as an educator, it was remarkable how they were able to compellingly pitch their top choices; equally impressive was how they listened to one another and ultimately chose a piece that they thought best suited for the University Museums,” Saab said.
The photograph is a self-portrait by Gutierrez, an American transgender artist of Mayan Indigenous heritage. The piece appears in the limited-edition, Indigenous Woman art book, created by the artist to showcase Mayan Indian heritage through high-fashion photographs. Four of the self-portraits featured in the book are part of the Museum of Modern Art collection.
“Selecting a work of art for the University to acquire is a rare and exceptional opportunity for undergraduates to practice curatorial discernment and advocate for students’ interests to be represented in the collection,” said Gramuglia.
Lo Prete described the unveiling of the portrait in the museum as exciting. But that wasn’t the only reveal. “Over the course of the week, I found myself shifting,” Lo Prete said. “I no longer questioned if the arts were right for me. I knew that they were.”