The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center announces the recent appointments of two remarkable individuals to pivotal Post-Baccalaureate fellowship positions.

The expansion of the Loeb’s staff reflects our ongoing commitment to sharing the Loeb’s outstanding art collection and exhibition program with our diverse campus and community audiences.

“We are thrilled to welcome Anna and Destiny to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center,” said Bart Thurber, the Anne Hendricks Bass Director. “Our ability to do impactful work relies on the excellence and dedication of our staff, and they are both welcome additions to the team.”

Destiny A. Kearney, Post-Baccalaureate Marketing and Digital Initiatives Fellow 

Destiny A. Kearney is a multidisciplinary artist, entrepreneur, and emerging academic focused on storytelling, community arts activism, and culturally relevant pedagogy in the arts. She holds a BA in Africana Studies, Visual Arts, and Art History from Bowdoin College, where her thesis, Analyzing Black Representation in the Teaching of Visual Arts (2021), critically examined the history of art on campus from its founding to the present. Kearney’s Afro-Indigenous heritage deeply influences her art practice. She joined the Chappaquiddick Wampanoag tribal council in 2024, contributing educational resources for tribal families and designing graphics for fundraising efforts. Her artwork spans figurative pieces in various mediums, and she recently expanded into installation art. Kearney has exhibited her work in galleries across Poughkeepsie and held her debut solo installation, Beauty in Remembrance (2022), on Noepe (Martha’s Vineyard) where she was featured in the MV Times. Kearney has previously held positions at The Art Effect, where she pioneered the development of the Youth Arts Empowerment Zone in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery, and planned and organized three community arts festivals alongside Poughkeepsie teens. At the Loeb, Destiny will lead digital engagement and marketing efforts, aiming to elevate the museum’s visibility within Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, the Hudson Valley, and beyond through visual storytelling that amplifies the voices of students, staff, artists, and the local community.

“Destiny’s experience in liberal arts education and community and youth engagement as well as her blend of scholarly and artistic talents bring a unique perspective to the Loeb staff,” said Mary-Kay Lombino, the Deputy Director and the Emily Hargroves Fisher ’57 and Richard B. Fisher Curator. “I’m looking forward to working closely with her to expand our ability to communicate the museum’s activities and new initiatives with our diverse audiences.”

Anna O’Shea, Post-Baccalaureate Museum Learning and Engagement Fellow 

Anna O’Shea is from Kinderhook, New York and is a recent graduate of Hamilton College. She will be serving as the new Learning and Community Engagement Fellow at the Loeb. At Hamilton, Anna graduated with a degree in Women’s and Gender Studies as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Her previous research focuses predominantly on performance art and education in jails and prisons. Her honors thesis, “Life is Movement, Let Us Dance”: Choreopolitics and a Kinetic Reaching Towards Freedom in Carceral Settings (2024) analyzed choreography as a means of understanding, critiquing, and resisting the United States carceral system. Anna was drawn to the Loeb through her experience working at the Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton, an academic museum similarly situated within a small liberal arts college. There, she connected her passion for accessibility to art education and engagement with the potential for programming in museum settings. At the Loeb, Anna is excited to work with the student gallery guides to support and enrich their interest in museum education, as well as cultivate relationships of trust and collaboration with schools and organizations in the wider Poughkeepsie community.

“I am delighted to be working with Anna to expand and deepen arts-based learning and engagement both within our gallery walls and out in the community,” said Amanda Potter, Putnam Assistant Director for Learning and Community Engagement. “With her experiences at the Wellin and as a peer leader in other settings, she is a gifted and insightful educator and will be a catalyst for many exciting things ahead.”

In addition to welcoming Anna and Destiny, two members of the curatorial team have recently shifted their roles. Ian Shelley, who formerly served as the Curatorial and Learning and Engagement Fellow, is now the Loeb Collections Curatorial Fellow. Alyx Raz, who was a Curatorial Associate, will now begin serving as Assistant Curator.