Caitlin Monachino ’17
Caitlin Monachino MA ’17 (art history) is the digital media coordinator at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT. She also works as a freelance writer and currently assists in exhibition research at The Aldrich.
Monachino decided to attend Purchase based on a recommendation from an undergraduate professor. “I’m grateful for her advice, as my time at Purchase resulted in significant personal and professional growth,” she says.
Discovering New Talents
She returned to school for the MA program a few years after undergraduate school. Feeling a bit intimidated and a little out of touch since she was new to the area, she credits the program with giving her the push she needed.
“The program pushed me to step up and rise to the occasion. While there, I not only gained confidence in my work, but also discovered a talent and interest in writing. The professors and advisors that I worked with shaped me into a substantially better writer–something that I’ve made a part-time career of.”
Curatorial Fellow
Monachino was the 2017 Neuberger Curatorial Fellow, for which she curated the exhibition Françoise Gilot: The Tamarind Years, an invaluable experience during which she developed essential career skills. “The preparation that went into the fellowship exhibition and its accompanying catalog have followed me into future work at The Aldrich: writing, editing, designing, image licensing, marketing, etc.,” she says.
High Marks
Monachino highly recommends the art history MA program for anyone interested in pursuing a career in the arts. “If your goal is to work in a museum setting, I cannot express enough how valuable it is to have the Neuberger right on campus. It has an exceptional collection with great exhibitions and provides students with many opportunities for hands-on, ‘in the field’ experiences.”