Rielle Oase is assistant curator of the art exhibit at the Arizona State Fair. A student of the University of Arizona College of Fine Art, Oase never expected to get the gig. She applied to be a gallery monitor to add experience to her resume.

Chi Isiogu, Arizona State Art Fair head curator, instead brought the talented photography student on board as assistant curator of the 2016 Fine Art & Photography art show and art programming. Oase, who was was tapped to curate a photography competition blitzed with more than 900 entries, says of receiving the offer, “I almost died of excitement.” Isiogu wanted to revamp the exhibit and make it a flagship fair experience, to morph the Fair’s old-school venue - Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum – into a modern art space.