New Curator

New Curator Josie Lopez brings local and global knowledge to the Museum.

JOSIE LOPEZ, PH.D, joined the Albuquerque Museum as curator of art in December 2018. Her research and curatorial projects have included examining art as a discursive agent in the political arena, the intersections of art and the environment, modern and contemporary Latin American art, 19th-century France, Spain and Mexico, Spanish art from El Greco to Goya, and the history of New Mexican art.

Josie Lopez with UC Berkeley Professor Genaro Padilla and Albuquerque Museum Director Andrew Connors

WHAT EXPERIENCES WILL SHAPE YOUR WORK AT THE ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM? Q

Curating The Carved Line: Block Printmaking in New Mexico and writing the accompanying book was a wonderful opportunity to get to work with the talented staff at the Albuquerque A

Museum and influenced my sense of being able to contribute to the collaborative environment that makes the Museum a special place to work. Experiences like curating at 516 ARTS and being the Eleanor Tufts fellow at Southern Methodist University reinforced my interest in being relevant in our time and place. At Southern Methodist University, I presented my research on satire, caricature, and freedom of the press from the perspective of 19thcentury Mexico. At that time, the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo took place and it occurred to me that my art historical research had a direct connection to what is happening today.

At University of California at Berkeley, the academic approach in art history shaped my understanding that it is important to have a broad knowledge of both art and history. It is my job to tell stories by interpreting the incredible objects in the Albuquerque Museum collections as well as the works that we bring from all over the world.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE MUSEUM? Q

Collaboration, exchange, and conversation inform what I do. I will think about how we tell the stories of our city and region within a larger context. We have a regionally specific identity but we are also connected globally. I will continue to develop relationships with other institutions in our state and beyond. A

YOU WERE ON AN ACADEMIC PATH, BUT PIVOTED TO MUSEUM WORK. WHY? Q

It is important that my work be relevant, accessible, and collaborative. I am interested in reaching broader audiences. In the museum field, there is a convergence of research, storytelling, and community that I am drawn to. A