Museum diversity
Some people worry that artists of color will replace other voices. But that’s not the case, according to ASU Art Museum Director Miki Garcia.
“The canon is not going away, but curators are making corrections to the canon. Art has always been global, but museums have created boundaries.” – Miki Garcia
Miki Garcia, director of the ASU Art Museum, and museum curator Julio César Morales reflected on diversity in museums. Read more.
Above Juntos Together: Iván Argote
Aug.17, 2019–Jan. 4, 2020
A curator’s guide to Phoenix
“I cannot tell you how beautiful and magical the light is when it reflects on the surrounding mountains of Phoenix. Visionary artists such as Max Ernst, Dorothea Tanning, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Fritz Scholder have been influenced and created phenomenal bodies of work after their time in Arizona.” – Julio César Morales
Julio César Morales, curator of the ASU Art Museum in ASU’s Herberger Institute, was asked by New York Magazine to share top spots to explore in the Phoenix area. He highlighted insider tips on arts, music and food, and of course gave a shout out to ASU Art Museum.
Mexican Independence Day
In celebration of Mexico’s Independence Day, the ASU Art Museum honored the contributions and culture of Mexican and Mexican-American communities. The event featured a keynote lecture by ASU Art Museum Curator Julio César Morales titled “Adios Cinco de Mayo: Decolonizing an American Holiday” and a celebration with local culinary delights, music, dance and art.
Cultural commons on campus
In 2019 the ASU Art Museum began the redesign of its public spaces with updated interior design, furniture, wayfinding signage and reimagined public spaces. The lobby was refreshed with new furniture, signage, digital displays and a new shop. The museum partnered with Phoenix retail store For the People to create a new concept shop called For the People X ASU Art Museum. The shop features a curated selection of unique home goods and design items, the sale of which support museum exhibitions and programs. The new Art in Focus gallery is dedicated to highlighting and sharing objects from the permanent collection. The first installments were works from the museum’s founding collection, a 1950 gift of 16 paintings from Phoenix attorney Oliver B. James, and included works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Diego Rivera, Edward Hopper and more. The new Artists’ Workshop is a space that allows all of our visitors to interact with art hands-on and engage with the exhibitions on display. The space features two site-specific murals created by Texas-based artist Cruz Ortiz. Fascinated by how land and corresponding laws and regulations impact our everyday life, the two murals entitled “Summer Nite Star Dream” and “Palo Verde Dream,” explore local Arizona desert landscapes and the modern-day realities of what immigrants need while crossing the desert. The ASU Art Museum believes museums are not just repositories for art but are also catalysts to explore the human experience, our vision is that the design of our public spaces will help anchor the museum as the cultural commons of the campus. This project was generously funded by Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust through its AGILE capacity building program.