Photograph by Stefan Jennings Batista.
In Spring 2025, the UNM Art Museum’s Student Advisory Council (SAC) members took on a semester-long project that guided them deep into the museum’s collection — and into the heart of its teaching mission. The SAC’s goal: create a student-centered How-To Guide for the UNMAM Beaumont Newhall Study Room to make the space more visible, approachable and usable, including simplifying the appointment request process.
The SAC worked closely with museum staff to co-write the guide and curate a themed example pull list — a list of artworks to view — from the museum’s collection. “We’re trying to lower barriers of access,” said Joseph McKee, Coordinator of Student Engagement and Technology. “This guide is written by students for students, which makes a huge difference.”
McKee notes that the project offered SAC members educational opportunities by providing them access to the UNMAM collection in ways they’d normally not have and by helping them learn the process of selecting works for a pull list.
In addition, McKee was aware of the various ways in which individuals use the Study Room, including those who are simply curious about the UNMAM collection, students doing research for studio or art history classes, and students in other courses who may have applicable class curricula. Reaching all of those users, along with providing SAC members some autonomy in describing how the space is used, was another important facet of the project, McKee notes.
Getting to Know the Study Room
Student Advisory Council members started the semester with the first phase of the project: a series of meetings to learn about the Study Room’s purpose, audiences and potential. They met with Angel Jiang, Curator of Collections & Study Room Initiatives, and Andrea Perez-Martinez, Collections Manager, to understand how the space functions and what types of objects are housed there.
For Christina Cook, a dual master’s student in Museum Studies and Art History, the project combined her interests in art history and education. “Talking about art, accessibility and education with enthusiastic people is always a joy,” said Cook. “Making the study room more accessible really intrigued me.”
Nicole Dadey, a sociology major, echoed the value of those early conversations. “I really appreciate that the museum focuses on making information more accessible to the public,” said Dadey. “The staff is open to sharing their experiences and letting us ask questions — it made the whole process feel collaborative from the start.”
From Idea to Curating a Pull List
As their understanding of the Study Room deepened, students shifted focus to the second phase, which included creating a model pull list — an essential part of visits, since it reflects the artworks that will be pulled for viewing. The group examined past pull lists to understand the breadth of the collection, along with how artworks are selected for teaching and research. Ultimately, members selected the theme Lines to guide their curatorial work, choosing a concept that could support interpretation across disciplines and media.
Then, the work of collaboration began in earnest. Students each prepared an initial selection of objects they felt best represented Lines. During the next two meetings, students presented their selected objects and had to justify why objects should be included in the final pull list. After this process, the SAC had an initial list of about 30 objects.
With support from Jiang and Hannah Cerne, Study Room Assistant and Graduate Assistant, the group refined the list to 16 objects. “We wanted to make a list that could be useful for anyone,” said Bre Kappel, a Museum Studies graduate student. “Something a professor could use across different classes, or something that would inspire a studio artist.”
The list featured black-and-white and color prints, abstraction and figuration, and a variety of techniques, from architectural sketches to photographic studies. “Angel and Hannah brought out every piece,” Kappel recalled. “They asked us to think critically: What is the intent here? Would this be useful for teaching?”
For Dadey, who isn’t an art history major, the curation process was both eye-opening and affirming. “It can feel intimidating if you don’t have that background,” she said. “But I realized that everyone brought different knowledge to the table. We weren’t competing — we were collaborating.”
Crafting the Guide: Writing for Students, by Students
By April, the group turned their attention to the third and final phase: writing the guide itself. Through a series of collaborative writing sessions, SAC members co-wrote a Q&A-style resource based on their own booking experiences and observations. With feedback from McKee and Communications & Outreach Specialist Kathy Freise, they shaped a tone that was clear, friendly and direct.
“We were trying to explain something for someone who’s never done it before,” said Dadey. “That helped fill in the gaps in our own understanding, too.”
“Improving the information around booking the study room will make it easier for folks to use it,” notes Cook. “Everyone in the SAC was excited to make sure what we created was accessible to everyone, which was so lovely to see.”
The guide outlines not just how to schedule a study room appointment, but also what kinds of research or creative projects it might support — from studio practice to academic coursework and beyond.
Student Reflections and Insights
Each SAC member brought a unique perspective to the process. Dadey noted how the project helped demystify both the collection and her own sense of place within it. “It can be intimidating if you don’t study art,” she said. “But I realized we were all learning. Everyone had something different to contribute.”
Cook appreciated the way SAC bridged classroom learning and institutional experience. “I really enjoyed meeting students from different programs who I would never have crossed paths within my normal course of study! I loved hearing everyone’s perspective, particularly when we were discussing what pieces we wanted to include in our example study room pull list.”
For Kappel, the experience reaffirmed the museum’s role as a living resource. “This is a public museum at a public university,” she said. “Our job is to serve you.” For example, if someone wants to see the brushstrokes on a Raymond Jonson painting, she says, that kind of request should feel normal and encouraged.
Sharing the Work: Launching the Guide and Pull List
The project culminated on May 1 with a UNMAM open house celebrating and launching the guide and pull list. The guide and pull list have been published on the UNMAM website and will help support UNMAM’s Collections Year initiative, during which the museum has paused public programming. The Beaumont Newhall Study Room remains open, however.
McKee notes that the SAC plays a distinctive role for those participating. “This is more than a student club,” McKee said. “It functions almost like a class — students get hands-on experience with internal museum procedures, curation and collections management.”
The SAC’s collaborative work models what student-led interpretation can look like: practical, personal and powerful. “There are so many questions you get the answers to that you didn’t even know you had,” said Dadey. “When students hear, ‘I helped write the guide,’ that’s when it feels real. That’s when it sticks.”