A recent major donation to the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection has not only enhanced its world-renowned holdings, but provided invaluable curatorial opportunities for students. The gift of 23 artworks comes from Seagate Technology Chairman and CEO Stephen Luczo and his wife Agatha. The Luczos, who began collecting Australian Aboriginal art in 2006, have assembled an impressive collection of nearly 200 paintings and sculptures that is notable for its diverse representation of contemporary artists, ranging from senior knowledge holders to the next generation of emerging talent. The couple is committed to the preservation of culture and nature, values they are imparting to their four young children. The gift of 16 paintings and 7 sculptures includes works by artists from several communities in the Pitjantjatjara homelands, who began painting after John W. Kluge donated his collection to UVA. These works were the focus of the Summer Curatorial Program in Indigenous Arts at the Kluge-Ruhe Collection, an initiative of the Mellon Foundation to enhance opportunities for students from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in the curatorial field. The exhibition, titled Songs of a Secret Country, was curated by five undergraduate students from around the country – India Ferguson, Imani Williford, Rosalba Ponce, Jake Martin, and Caitlyn Keeve – who came to Charlottesville to gain invaluable experience across the entire curatorial spectrum, from writing exhibition text and labels to choosing wall colors and more. Graduate students Macario Garcia and Lee Bloch from the Anthropology department of UVA assisted with supervising the students and editing the exhibition catalog. The opportunity to benefit students as well as to add to Kluge-Ruhe’s offerings was particularly appealing to the Luczos, according to Luczo Family Collection Curator Blair Hartzell. “It is the brilliant level of engagement – with students, with the local community, and with artists from both America and Australia that makes the Kluge-Ruhe the ideal home for this gift.” Kluge-Ruhe director Margo Smith said, “Kluge-Ruhe and the University of Virginia are tremendously grateful to the Luczos for the opportunity to use this major donation of artworks to advance our Mellon initiatives. Through this program Kluge-Ruhe is becoming the preeminent center for the study of Indigenous Australian Art in the United States.”