Henry Morales, the new John B. Hurford ’60 Center of the Arts and Humanities (HCAH) post-baccalaureate fellow, brings his fantastic artistic ability to Haverford College. The son of two Guatemalan immigrants, Morales grew up in Los Angeles and Las Vegas making art of all kinds. While drawing and painting are his primary mediums, he also enjoys theater and videography. It wasn’t until his boss at a Las Vegas deli noticed his work and suggested art school, however, that he realized the career opportunities in the arts and humanities field. He transferred from the College of Southern Nevada to the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, where he studied painting and art history and developed his curation skills while working as an art exhibition team member. This summer, he was an artist-in-residence at the Chautauqua Institute School of Art in New York, which gave him the freedom to work on various independent projects. He now brings his creativity and widespread artistic interests to Haverford. 

“It's exciting to see a visual artist jump into the post-bac fellowship position, given the ongoing work they do with students proposing and mounting VCAM Create Space exhibitions and projects,” said James Weissinger, associate director of HCAH and operations manager of VCAM. “Henry brings a deep knowledge of the craft of exhibition-making along with a sharp curatorial sensibility. He's a creative thinker and wonderful collaborator, and we're incredibly lucky to have him as part of the Hurford Center team.” Morales is the fifth Hurford Center post-bac fellow and the first since Courtney Lynne Carter ’17. 

In this role, Morales will assist with event management and publicity for the Hurford Center’s programs and lead student outreach, serving as a point of contact for those interested in pursuing support from the Student Arts Fund and student research stipends or in leading reading groups, student seminars, or publications. Given his previous curation experience, he will also work closely with students on their exhibition ideas, and will have the opportunity to complete and display his own independent project that advances his artistic and professional growth. 

The fellowship has evolved to include another important responsibility. “Over the past year, the students, staff, and faculty of the Hurford Center's Steering Committee worked to reimagine the post-bac fellowship in light of the [fall 2020] strike, thinking in particular about how the Hurford Center and VCAM can better serve the needs of BIPOC students through the arts,” said Weissinger. “This is one piece of a longer-term conversation at the Hurford Center about how we can support the College's evolving goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Morales will, therefore, help strengthen the Hurford Center’s engagement with BIPOC students at Haverford and leverage the Center’s resources to further its DEI goals.

Morales spoke to Jalen Martin ’23 about his journey to Haverford and his goals for his new position.

Jalen Martin: Why were you interested in the post-bac position?
Henry Morales: What I love about art is that you’re given the tools to think creatively and adapt, no matter what you do in life. I saw the opportunity for the Hurford Center online and I just loved what it wanted to do, just the description of [the position]. They wanted to bring inclusivity and outreach to the greater BIPOC and LGBTQ communities within the school. I resonate with that, because art should be about that… And of course, the other aspects of helping out the Center with curating and helping out [with the] exhibition space for other students and all that jazz.

JM: How have your previous working experiences prepared you for this position?
HM: All of my positions, going all the way to my deli job, working at IKEA, … [working] as my school's exhibition team member helping out in the studio, in the gallery space… Every single one of them has really helped. I think that's one thing you can kind of take away from life is that everything is a learning situation, and it could help your longer journey later on. That IKEA job–[a] simple cook-type of job–showed me how to communicate and multitask. And even my experience as an artist has helped me. Before coming to Haverford, I was at this artist-in residency in Chautauqua, New York. And that one had a tremendous influence on guiding me [towards] what I wanted to do with my life, and how to achieve those goals as an artist. So that was a huge influence for sure on the role I'm doing now because, like I said, it really is about how I can help other people with their projects or what they envision, those communication skills, having confidence in myself and giving confidence to other people to create the work they want to. I'm here to help. 

JM: Which specific parts of Hurford Center programming are you most excited to make your mark on?
HM: I think definitely being able to talk to other groups or affiliations within the school. I’m super excited to see how we can manage or how we can include them into the Center and have a collaborative effort, and not make it seem like this is a members-only club type of thing. It’s open for everybody. You and I know that, but not everybody knows, right? So I think that would be really great for us to kind of start that line of communication within the school. And who knows what can grow from that. I think that's exciting too. And then another aspect I'm excited about too is what I can do with the resources given available to me through this position in regards to my art, how I can grow as an artist and also show the community here at Haverford it's okay to talk about yourself and share your story. You are equally as valid. You are given the space to be here. Because we're not all the same. And that's a beautiful thing.

JM: What kinds of projects have you already begun to work on?
HM: So right now, I am working with Lexie Iglesia ’21 on her show that she has in the Upper Create Space [at VCAM]. And that is a super exciting show because it talks about herself… I've worked with Lexie, arranging the space for her and all that stuff. It [was] really great to see all that come together. And we also have another student's work, Jasper [Barbash-Taylor ’22], coming up in November. That one should also be very exciting. 

JM: What is one thing you would like to accomplish as a post-bac?
HM: I want to have a space for students to be seen and heard. I think that's very important.