This edition of From Our Eyes spotlights Hailie Ybarra (’27 History; Anthropology minor), 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 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, and that led to the most interesting summer of my college career.
Prior to this summer, I had mainly focused on researching the California Gold Rush; however, this fellowship not only taught me much about art but also inspired me to revise my senior thesis project to study art repatriation after World War II. I am a History major with a minor in Anthropology; however, before my time at Chapman, I earned my associate’s degree in Anthropology, which set me on the path I am on now. This fellowship has taught me skills that I hope to apply to a future career in museum work with art or other objects.
During this summer fellowship, I worked 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, and curate museum objects, and to collaborate with Dehusa Pacheco (’28 Creative Writing), the other summer fellow. We also had the opportunity to visit the Getty Conservation Institute at the Getty Center, and while I may not have experience on the conservation side of museums, it was exciting to see the behind-the-scenes work that keeps objects safe and preserved.
The biggest project I worked on this summer was The Reach of One, an exhibition curated by Dehusa and me, which explores our impact on the world. Using the research skills I learned this summer and the improvements I’ve made to my writing, we created a new exhibition in Moulton Hall. It is our hope that, through this exhibition, audiences will see that even the actions of one person can make ripples in the world for 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, my passion for the world of art and museums has grown, and I will carry it with me for the rest of my life. I highly recommend that, no matter who you are or what your interests are, you give the “museum without walls” a chance; you may find something you’ve never seen before.
(Photo header: Hailie Ybarra (’27 History; Anthropology minor) and Deshusa Pacheco (’28 Creative Writing) working on a cataloging project. Photo courtesy of The Escalette Permanent Art Collection.)
