The University of New Mexico Art Museum is proud to announce that Study Room and Curatorial Assistant Gianna Ramirez has been selected as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow (MMUF) at the University of New Mexico. A second-year art history major with minors in museum studies and arstudio, Ramirez is one of five students selected at UNM this year.  

Named for educator and civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the MMUF aims to broaden scholarly perspectives in the U.S. academy. Through mentorship, research funding and cohort-based community building, the two-year program prepares students of exceptional promise for Ph.D. study in the humanities and related disciplines, and for future careers as university faculty members. 

Research Rooted in Representation 

Ramirez’s fellowship research will examine the experiences of Chicano/a/x and Indigenous artists and explore how museums and academic institutions can better support the next generation of artists in New Mexico. She’ll conduct the first comprehensive diversity assessment of the UNMAM collection, identifying gaps in representation that reflect broader histories of exclusion in the state’s creative and academic spaces. 

“When I think about New Mexico and the art produced here, there are still gaps, especially in the ways that dominant Western narratives shape what we see,” she says. “This project is about exploring those gaps and asking what’s missing.”  

She plans to interview local artists about their experiences as students and artists of color, their creative practices, and how representation within academic museum collections can support artistic development and education. Her research aims to inform stronger institutional practices within museums and universities, supporting Chicano/a/x and Indigenous artists in their creativity and visual sovereignty 

Ramirez’s interest in representation started in high school, during an internship with the Albuquerque Museum’s photo archivist, where she encountered a diversity assessment of the museum’s collection and noted inequities in representation, particularly of Latina artists. 

In 2024, Ramirez was selected as a Young Ambassador with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino, completing a four-week internship at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. There, she researched the iconography of the fresco Mundos de Mestizaje, updated interpretive materials and contributed to digital resources. The work reinforced her commitment to reshaping historical narratives for contemporary audiences. 

Scholarship in Practice at UNMAM 

Since March 2025, Ramirez has worked as a Curatorial Assistant at UNMAM, supporting collections work during Collections Year, facilitating study room visits and contributing to curatorial research. Recently, she assisted with research for the major gift of photographs by 18 artists from the collection of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, preparing artist profiles, biographies and object descriptions. She notes that she is committed to developing research and exhibitions that spark positive change and ensure that visitors feel represented. 

“Working at the UNM Art Museum has really informed and supported my interests,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to approach curation from the perspective of social movements.” 

Fostering Mentorship and Community 

As a Mellon Mays fellow, Ramirez will take part in weekly seminars and will receive close faculty mentorship, conference opportunities, graduate school preparation and research stipends.  

“It’s a very prestigious program, and the fact that it’s paid research, especially as an undergraduate, is rare,” Ramirez says. “This feels like a springboard for what I want to pursue in graduate studies.” With plans to earn a Ph.D. in art history and become a museum curator, she adds, “I’ll be the first doctorate in my family. A lot of pieces had to align, and this program aligns with what I care about.”  

As a student-centered teaching museum, UNMAM celebrates Ramirez’s achievement. Her fellowship award reflects the impact of collections-based learning, mentorship and undergraduate research. We look forward to supporting her scholarship as it continues to grow.