The walls of the University of New Mexico Art Museum are bare now, but the space is packed with potential as collections workers catalog and curate new additions to the museum’s collection.
In 2024, The University of New Mexico Art Museum announced it was the recipient of a gift of over 100 photographs from the collection of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, collectors based in Los Angeles, California. The influx of art prompted the museum to temporarily pause gallery showings and embark on their “Collections Year” project.
Collections Year is a catch-all name for an unprecedented, difficult-to-define era for the museum, Collections Manager for the UNM Art Museum Andrea Perez-Martinez said. For the first time, UNMAM has closed its galleries; however, its study rooms remain open and accessible for visitors and classes.
“We don’t have exhibition programming, our galleries are temporary workspaces in order to execute really foundational collection management procedures,” Perez-Martinez said. “We’ve got in this past year and now this year as well, in 2024 and 2025, we got some really large gifts in the form of artwork. We have a few hundred new artworks that have come into the museum that need to be condition reported, cataloged and essentially just processed into the museum.”
Condition reports document any signs of damage and ensure that protective measures are working properly.
“The goal of any museum that has a permanent collection, especially one of our size, is to continue the stewardship and care for the works. It’s important to do regular condition reporting in order to track the deterioration of the artwork,” Perez-Martinez said. “We have prints and drawings that are from the 15th century. They’re not in perfect condition and they’re not meant to be. Things deteriorate. That’s just the nature of everything, including artwork.”
Collections Year has created jobs for 12 collections apprentices who receive hands-on experience in art preservation, museum studies and more general museum work, Perez-Martinez said.
“The artwork itself kind of guides the day. When we’re working with really big artwork, it means that we need more people to help carry or move it. Especially in different parts of the museum, somebody holding the doors in order to come in and out of different spaces is crucial. It means that we need more people,” Perez-Martinez said.
Another aspect of Collections Year is tracking artworks movements and ensuring the museum knows where a given object is. Once conditions report are completed and artworks are catalogued that are assigned the information typically seen on museum labels, such as title, artist and year, are added.
The Steinhauser gift contains roughly 60 artworks and over 150 objects. An object is any given piece, such as a photograph, whereas an artwork can be made up of multiple objects, Perez-Martinez said.
The size and source of the gift is indicative of UNMAM’s growing reputation high quality teaching institution, Perez-Martinez said.
“She is a really generous art collector and tends to donate artwork to renowned museums and academic museums across the country. So, the fact that we’re on her radar, I would say, is a big deal,” Perez-Martinez said.
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UNM Art Museum’s Communications and Outreach Specialist Kathy Freise emphasized UNMAM’s use and sharing of the work as a special attribute that appeals to donors.
“(The Steinhauser gift) reinforces what we have done here, what we do here and what we will do here. One of the components I think that appealed, and I’ve heard this from others too, is that the works are included in the study room visits. Students are seeing them, faculty are seeing them. They’re hung in exhibitions. They’re not tucked away, never to be seen again. They’re becoming an active part of our mission as a teaching museum,” Freise said.
The museum ceased gallery exhibitions at the end of the 2025 spring semester to begin Collections Year. The museum will likely resume exhibitions in August, 2026, at the beginning of the 2026 fall semester. Despite exhibit pauses, Freise and Perez-Martinez both emphasized that the museum’s study rooms remain open as a resource for students and faculty as they shared that UNM Art Museum is first and foremost an educational institution.
“I’m happy when we do have visitors, even during Collections Year — especially during Collections Year,” Perez-Martinez said.
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
