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Kate Gaudet, associate director of UNH鈥檚 Hamel Honors and Scholars College, spent some extended time in late summer and fall moonlighting in a couple of unique, unofficial capacities 鈥� art researcher and amateur sleuth.

And the results of that investigative work are now on colorful display throughout the home of the Hamel Honors and Scholars College in Huddleston Hall.

Thanks to a private foundation grant, the Hamel Honors and Scholars College was able to purchase a variety of original artwork to adorn the walls of Huddleston Hall. Gaudet wanted to center the collection around UNH alumni art as much as possible, so she set out to galleries throughout the region to unearth as many such works as she could find.

The result is artwork from 11 alumni 鈥� as well as two emeriti faculty, one current faculty and one current staff member 鈥� among a collection of 51 pieces representing 35 artists. The remainder of the non-UNH pieces are from regional artists (12 are from New Hampshire, and the rest are from Maine, Massachusetts and Nova Scotia).

Indeed, Gaudet and the college succeeded in their mission of securing a collection that is distinctly New England 鈥� and distinctly UNH.

鈥淭he building itself has been transformative for the honors college, just to have this space for the students to gather. But we also wanted it to be a space that felt really good and didn鈥檛 feel like any other space on campus,鈥� Gaudet says of the renovated Huddleston Hall, which was unveiled as home of the honors college in September 2024. 鈥淎nd I really believe in the power of original artwork.鈥�

To celebrate the collection, the Hamel Honors and Scholars College is hosting an on Thursday, April 3, from 6-7:30 p.m.听in Huddleston Hall. Many of the featured artists will be in attendance, and the festivities will include refreshments and a cash bar. The event is free and open to the public, but .

The project came about after the building was renovated to host the honors college following a $20 million gift from Dana Hamel. Those funds didn鈥檛 cover furnishing the entire building, so the college sought additional resources and was connected to a private foundation 鈥� that has chosen to remain anonymous 鈥� that is interested in New Hampshire workforce development, Gaudet says.

The college submitted a proposal for furnishings and technology, specifically writing in items like artwork and plants that would help students feel at home.

Once the grant came through, Gaudet got to work seeking out the artwork, specifically from alumni. She initially worked from a list of art student graduates from the art department but soon cast her net wider (the featured alumni artists represented a wide variety of UNH majors and disciplines).

She did commission two alumni artists to create custom pieces for the space. Landscape painter Daniel Faiella 鈥�19 designed a tryptic of Mount Washington for a prominent position over a fireplace, and metalworker Colton Workman 鈥�24 fashioned a coat tree that incorporates a motif inspired by the historic building鈥檚 arched windows.

For the rest, she became her own art researcher and investigator, hitting galleries throughout the region in hopes of finding artwork by UNH alums or making connections that could lead to the same outcome. She visited galleries and studios in New Hampshire and Maine and talked with several galleries while tracking down the 11 featured alumni, a process that involved 鈥渇ollowing a lot of breadcrumbs,鈥� she says.

From there, she selected the additional work from New England artists 鈥� with one featured artist from Nova Scotia 鈥� and did her best to balance gender, as well, ending up with a collection featuring 19 men and 16 women. The purchases began in October and were completed in January, with most of the artwork being hung over Christmas break.

The grant covered the purchase of all of the artwork and its installation, with no money coming from the university budget. It also allowed Gaudet to secure originals in the vast majority of instances rather than prints from the featured artists.

鈥淏eing able to purchase original artwork from local artists was just a dream come true,鈥� Gaudet says. 鈥淎nd the artists were very enthusiastic about having their work displayed at UNH.鈥�

The response from the students in the Hamel Honors and Scholars College has been overwhelmingly positive, Gaudet says, as many have commented to her on the eclectic collection on display throughout the building. She has even been able to involve a couple of students in the process, hiring honors college student Kanan Kalke 鈥�26 as an art assistant and having Molly Gearhart 鈥�25 build a custom frame for one of the pieces.

The artwork on the walls joins a large, colorful mural from Portland, Maine-based artist Ryan Adams in Huddleston Hall as distinctive representations of creativity in the building, something that was important to the honors college leadership as they sought the grant and pursued the pieces to display.

鈥淥ur idea was that this could be a space 听where the artwork can connect current students with alumni and also with New Hampshire and New England and the natural beauty of the area,鈥� Gaudet says.