VCU Libraries has chosen the recipient of the fifth annual VCU Publishing Award that recognizes scholarship and creativity from VCU Publishing's journal partners.

VCU Libraries publishes nine open access peer-reviewed scholarly journals across a wide range of disciplines. VCU Publishing also hosts the archives of Auctus: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship, from VCU's Honors College.

To be considered for the award, publishing partners nominate representative works from their most recent journal volumes that demonstrate VCU Publishing’s goals to advance research, creative expression and learning.

The awardee for 2026 is Alejandra López-Oliveros (Rutgers University) for her article “Redefining Gender and Rural Life in the Pampas: Alessandra Sanguinetti’s The Adventures of Guille and Belinda Series” from Vol. 20, Issue 1 of Art Inquiries.

According to editor Kris Belden-Adams, “the essay is by emerging scholar Alejandra López-Oliveros, who studies the Argentinian masculine archetype of the gaucho as it is appropriated and redefined in the work of contemporary photographer Alessandra Sanguinetti. In the history of photography, South American practitioners are virtually never covered, nor are the cultural specifics of that region, so we were grateful to feature this essay in our journal and recommend it for consideration.”

Alejandra López-Oliveros (she/ella) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Art History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. She studies contemporary photography in Latin America, focusing on women engaging in feminist, decolonial and queer studies, and using photography as an activist tool. She holds an MA in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts-NYU, an MA in Art Museums and Gallery Studies from the University of Leicester in England, and a BA in Art History from the University of Granada in Spain.

Based in the VCU Libraries, VCU Publishing amplifies VCU scholarly and research findings, and provides publishing opportunities and experiences for VCU students and faculty. VCU Publishing includes a portfolio of platforms and publishing services. It seeks partnerships within VCU and the Greater Richmond community to broaden that portfolio in ways that advance research, creative expression, and learning at VCU and for the region.

To learn more about publishing with VCU Libraries, contact publishing@vcu.edu.