The following blog was written by Hailie Ybarra (History ’27), who was one of the Escalette Collection’s 2026 Summer Fellows. Throughout the summer, Hailie assisted with projects related to collections stewardship, curation, and research.
This summer has been unlike any other for me. The Escalette Collection offered me my first fellowship and offered me a foot in the door to the world of collections management. After taking a class with Jessica Bosinski, the Escalette Collections Manager, in the Spring of 2026 I was encouraged to apply for the fellowship this summer, and thus began the most interesting summer of my college career.
Prior to this summer I had mainly focused on researching the California Gold Rush; however, not only has this fellowship taught me much art but it also inspired me to change my senior thesis project to study art repatriation after World War II. I am a History major with a minor of Anthropology, however, before my time at Chapman I received my associates degree in Anthropology which began my journey to now. This fellowship has taught me skills that I hope to apply to a future career in museum work with either art or other objects.
This summer I got the opportunity to work with objects such as Kristine Thompson’s Images Seen To Images Felt, Steve Roden’s Anatomy of Touch and Sound series, and the Russian Icon Collection. Through these experiences I learned to condition report, catalog, curate, and collaborate with Dehusa Pacheco, the other summer fellow. We also got the opportunity to travel to the Getty Conservation Institute at the Getty Center and, while I may not have experience in the conservation side of museums, it was exciting to see the behind the scenes work done to keep objects safe and preserved.
The biggest project I worked on this summer was The Reach of One, an exhibition curated by Dehusa and myself that contained themes about our impact in the world. Working on this project was difficult, however using the skills I learned this summer about researching and the improvements I’ve made to my writing skills, we were able to create a new exhibition in Moulton Hall. I hope with this exhibition our audience will be able to see that even the actions of one person can make ripples in the world to so many others.
I will always remember my time at the Escalette Collection and I look forward to continuing my work with them this upcoming school year. I know the lessons I learned during my summer at the Escalette Collection will assist me in my journey to join the world of museums. Over this summer I have grown a passion for the world of art and museums that I will carry for the rest of my life. I highly recommend, no matter who you are or if you think you can do it, give the “museum without walls” a chance and you may find something you’ve never seen before.
We invite you to explore all the works in the Escalette Collection by visiting our eMuseum.
Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences is the proud home of the Phyllis and Ross Escalette Permanent Collection of Art. The Escalette Collection exists to inspire critical thinking, foster interdisciplinary discovery, and strengthen bonds with the community. Beyond its role in curating art in public spaces, the Escalette is a learning laboratory that offers diverse opportunities for student and engagement and research, and involvement with the wider community. The collection is free and open to the public to view.
