UNM Academics & Innovation

g o . u nm . e d u / f i n e a r t s We teach it. Create it. And embrace it. Art isn’t just important to us here; it’s a part of us. We let it into our hearts and allow it to stir our minds. It shapes our identity and even drives our economy. Look around. You’ll see it, feel it and hear it everywhere. In the photography and printmaking that we’re world-renowned for. In the music, pottery and performances we create. Whether it’s cast or woven, printed or painted, disruptive, experimental, theoretical or visionary, we have an insatiable love and deep respect for art. And if you do, too, we really should talk. SOME OF OUR FINEST FINE ART DEGREES: BFA Art Studio | MFA Art Studio | MA Art History | PhD Art History | MA Art Education The Field Museum of Natural History The Whitney Museum of American Art Ideaxfactory The VIPER International Festival for Film and New Media The New York Foundation for the Arts SXSW Eco Place by Design FACULTY FOCUS A N D R E A P O L L I Professor of Art & Ecology, Department of Art She’s been fusing art with science for nearly 20 years. And after working with some of the world’s foremost researchers—the likes of NASA, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and more—she came to New Mexico. Her work has been featured in hundreds of global exhibits, but her sustainable art style is brought to our students semester after semester. HER WORKS HAVE BEEN FEATURED BY: STUDENT PROF I LE N A T H A N N E Z Senior BA Art Studio He’s an artist and a family man. A veteran, Navajo and creator, working in mediums from gold through acrylic to capture Diné history in modern form. He knew that native culture needed a fresh breath, so he set out to blend future and past. Learning all the techniques necessary, classical and contemporary, from the finest fine arts program in the Southwest. “AS PEOPLE COME HERE, THEY COME IN BEAUTY AND LEAVE IN BEAUTY.” No place else provides New Mexico with more teachers. More than 30,000 of the educators we train go back out into the state to make an impact. The others? They go everywhere. Because they can. They leave here ready. Because they started here. You see, this is a frontier. A place that’s somehow urban, suburban and rural all at the same time. A cultural crossroads unlike any other (yet), and a socioeconomic melting pot. The perfect place to study where education has been, where it’s going and how to deal with some of its greatest challenges. Bilingualism. Special Education. Nutrition. Health Exercise and Sports Science. Cultural Integration. All disciplines that are sure to become much more significant nationwide in the not-too-distant future. Maybe you saw her on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." She’s an elementary school teacher from New Mexico who starts her class every morning by asking a simple question: “Have you eaten, and do you need anything to wear?” If anyone is hungry or needs clothes, she takes care of them. She knows that things most of us take for granted can be real barriers to learning for children without them. g o . u nm . e d u /e d u c a t i o n When smart people don’t know the answers, they ask other smart people who do. That’s what President Clinton did. Professor Luckasson was asked to serve on his administration’s Committee on Mental Retardation. To advise and provide clarity about how the U.S. can better serve the intellectually disabled. ALUMN I PROF I LE S O N Y A R O M E R O PhD '19, MA ’01, BA ’97, Elementary School Teacher FACULTY FOCUS R U T H L U C K A S S O N Distinguished Professor, Department of Special Education 0 6 A C A D E M I C S & I N N O V A T I O N | 0 7