ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Two recent graduates of Winthrop University’s Master of Arts in Arts Administration (M.A.A.A.) program have each been awarded $50,000 fellowships through a partnership between the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) and the California Arts Council.
As part of the fellowship, the two – Lana Quint ’23 and Sandrina Preudhomme ’23 – will work for a year with a California arts organization. Both finished their degrees in August. Of the 215 applicants for the fellowships, only 11 were chosen, according to Milena Deleva, executive director of AAAE.
Winthrop educators are delighted to see the two recent graduates secure the fellowships. “We are the only arts administration program in the country that had any alumni receive the fellowship – and we had two of them,” said Robert Wildman, associate professor and director of arts administration program. “That speaks volumes for the caliber of Winthrop’s M.A.A.A. program.”
Learn more about the two fellowship recipients:
Lana Quint – She will work at William James Association for her fellowship. She currently works as the executive assistant to the president and CEO at MOXI, the Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation in Santa Barbara.
Before starting her graduate degree, Quint was living in Norfolk, Virginia. She researched programs on the East Coast and decided to complete the online Winthrop program. “It turns out, I made the best possible choice, because I was given numerous opportunities to learn from incredibly successful, passionate and intelligent arts administrators,” she said.
Originally from Fallon, a small rural town in Nevada, Quint developed an undeniable passion for the arts. This led her to various positions in museums, such as at the Terry Lee Wells Discovery Museum in Reno, Nevada, The Hermitage Museum and Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia, and at MOXI.
As an artist, Quint has always felt the most at home at museums. “As an emerging arts administrator, I strive to create increased arts opportunities for my community through diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives and culturally relevant community engagement,” she said. “Museums exist for their communities…This is where my passion is held; in providing memorable and meaningful experiences for my community through art.”
Sandrina Preudhomme – She will be paired with the Autry Museum of the American West. For more than a decade of her career, Preudhomme was dedicated to serving others as a K-12 art teacher and as a volunteer with non-profit agencies and college prep courses. Some of her proudest moments included being recognized as an award-winning teacher of the year and having her artwork featured in local newspapers and galleries.
These experiences taught her the importance of providing equitable educational programs for at-risk youth. However, she lacked the administrative power required to effectively change policies.
The pandemic created a sense of urgency for her to pursue her dreams and led her to Winthrop to obtain an online arts administration degree. Her goal is to lead a non-profit arts organization. While working to obtain her degree, Preudhomme moved from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Hawthorne, California.
Preudhomme is excited to work with the Autry Museum of the American West because it share values with her that are rooted in “inclusion, education, respect, collaboration, connection and innovation.”
For more information, contact Wildman at wildmanr@winthrop.edu.
