Artistic Pursuit

A balancing act.

That’s how arts studies alumna Sabrina Hurtado describes a typical day as manager of teen and college programs at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Hurtado’s job responsibilities range from communicating with the museum’s internal and external partners to collaborating with departments and planning events, typically 12 to 18 months in advance. It’s a schedule that keeps them busy and centered on fostering a creative atmosphere for teen and college audiences.

The 2022 graduate, who also earned a visual arts concentration and an arts entrepreneurship minor, is more than prepared for the workload. And for that, they credit their NC State experience.

“Earning an arts studies degree allowed me to understand how the arts interact with different fields in business, education and social activism,” Hurtado said. “That kind of interdisciplinary curriculum helped me realize how the arts can benefit all people.”

An oft-repeated museum mantra, they added, is we do nothing about us without us.

Earning an arts studies degree allowed me to understand how the arts interact with different fields in business, education and social activism.

Hurtado uses their trained artistic eye to offer programs that engage teen and college groups with the creative process, works of art and practicing artists. Offerings include juried exhibitions, online courses, symposia, workshops, social events, and internships in curation, visitor experience and marketing, among others.

Hurtado knows the value of such programs having participated in an internship at Arts NC State. They said their college education also provided opportunities to network with various artists and people from different departments at the university and equipped them with a historical perspective, and communication, writing and research skills.

“That background helps me really appreciate how we can create programs that are both intentional and meaningful to the exhibition and connect the community with those topics,” they explained.

One such program is “College Days,” which Hurtado developed collaboratively with museum teams and a college advisory panel. Designed as a way to reach the Raleigh community, the monthly event brings together student artists and organizations to share information and opportunities, they said.

“The program is also a platform for students to feel empowered and to use the museum as a resource for making art and building community,” they said, adding that “College Days” will launch this fall.

And what of their own journey from college to the work world?

“When I was a college freshman, I thought my career path was just going to be curation or academia,” Hurtado said. “And while that’s still in my field of view, through internships and advice from mentors, I understood there were jobs like this where I could create programs for teens and college students.”

To those students looking to turn their arts studies degree into a career, Hurtado encourages them to connect with people in positions they aspire to and ask for informational interviews and networking opportunities.

“Get your name out there and let people know who you are, what you’re all about, which really makes a difference,” they added. “Also, keep an open mind when looking at job and career possibilities because the arts are everywhere.” 

This post was originally published in College of Humanities and Social Sciences.