Tell us about yourself!
Hello everyone, I am Dorothea (Yuyan) Qin. I was born and raised in Nanjing, China. I earned her B.A. with honors in Art History and Sociology from Grinnell College (2026), where I developed my interests through interdisciplinary research, museum practice, and campus involvement. I also served on the Art History Student Educational Policy Committee, representing my peers and contributing to the department that shaped my undergraduate experience. This experience strengthened my desire to remain actively involved in the institutions and communities I have joined.
What are your past professional experiences like?
Throughout my undergraduate years, I explored the arts from multiple perspectives, working as an arts advocate, curator, development intern, museum educator, and researcher. I served as a curator and museum educator at the Grinnell College Museum of Art, contributing to exhibition publications, curating exhibitions, and developing public programs that fostered dialogue between artworks and diverse audiences. I also interned in the Development Department at the Denver Art Museum, supporting donor research, stewardship, and fundraising initiatives, and at Americans for the Arts, where she contributed to national arts advocacy and civic engagement projects. Earlier, I worked with nonprofit organizations in Jordan and the United States on initiatives focused on accessibility, public health, and youth education.
What about research projects?
I conducted several research projects across the United States at the intersection of art history and sociology, presenting my work at academic conferences, universities, and community spaces. My research has examined news representations of Asian Americans across major U.S. Supreme Court affirmative action cases, taste and meaning-making among older adults engaging with contemporary abstract art in rural Iowa, and contemporary East Asian artists whose participatory practices draw on Buddhist philosophies of emptiness and interdependence. Through these experiences, I became increasingly interested in how art is interpreted, supported, and shared with the public, as well as he larger structures that make cultural work possible.
What do you hope to gain here at ARAD?
I hope to deepen my understanding of arts leadership, philanthropy, and cultural strategy while engaging with New York City’s expansive cultural landscape. Ultimately, I hope to build a career connecting research, philanthropy, and museum practice, contributing to cultural institutions that are intellectually ambitious and responsive to the communities they serve.
Arts Administration 
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