Student Opportunities at The New Gallery
The New Gallery offers art students meaningful, paid opportunities to develop professional skills in gallery management, curation, and art collection care — all within a working campus gallery environment.
Gallery Assistantships
The New Gallery assistantship is a hands-on learning experience that spans every aspect of gallery and exhibition work. As a Gallery Assistant, you'll build practical skills in exhibition planning, design, and installation, along with lighting, promotion, and community engagement.
When not directly supporting an installation at The New Gallery, assistants focus on the University Art Collection — a collection of more than 3,500 pieces. Responsibilities include cataloging, photographing, handling, restoring, researching, exhibiting, and caring for works in the collection.
Gallery Assistants are scholarship recipients, and work hours count toward building real museum management experience in an active, professional setting.
Jewel Birdsong Curatorial Scholarship
The Jewel Birdsong Curatorial Scholarship gives one recipient the opportunity to work directly with the director of the University Art Collection on research and curatorial projects tied to the 3,500-piece collection.
To be eligible, you must:
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Be a declared art major at Austin Peay State University
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Have a minimum GPA of 3.0
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Have a minimum ACT score of 27
For a full list of funding options, visit the Art+Design Scholarships page.
Hazel Smith Summer Research Fellowship
In the late 1990s, Mark S. and Martha Em Raby established the Hazel Smith Student Art Collection to honor Martha Em Raby's great-aunt, Hazel Smith — Austin Peay's first art instructor. Each spring, this fund purchases a three-dimensional piece from the annual juried student exhibition through the Hazel Smith Student Art Collection Award.
In 2019, the Rabys expanded their support by creating the Hazel Smith Summer Research Fellowship. This endowment allows one student to work closely with the director of the University Art Collection, deepening the collection's research capacity and educational outreach. Fellows spend the summer cataloging, photographing, handling, restoring, researching, exhibiting, and caring for works in the 3,500-piece collection.
Endowments are permanently restricted funds managed by the Austin Peay State University Foundation. Award amounts may vary based on the endowment's value and the Foundation's spending plan.
To support APSU fundraising initiatives, contact the Office of University Advancement at 931-221-7127.
