E. Carmen Ramos is chief curatorial and conservation officer at The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. There she leads the curatorial and conservation teams as they serve the nation and beyond through collections development, ground-breaking scholarship, art conservation, and scientific research. Ramos previously served as the acting chief curator and curator of Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), where she built one of the largest collections of Latinx art at a museum of U.S. art. She organized award-winning exhibitions including ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now (2020), Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art (2013) and Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography (2017). In addition to her numerous catalogues, her scholarship appears in American Art, and in books like Picturing Cuba: Art, Culture and Identity on the Island.
Freddy Rodríguez, Paradise for a Tourist Brochure, 1990. Acrylic, sawdust, and newspaper collage on canvas, 60 × 66 in. Gift of Funds from The Ahmanson Foundation, and Patrons' Permanent Fund. National Gallery of Art, 2022.45.1
In 2021, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC embarked on a new course after it redefined its mission, vision and values, which are all deeply grounded in deepening and expanding the museum’s collections and its service to audiences. In this talk, E. Carmen Ramos, Chief Curatorial and Conservation Officer at the National Gallery of Art, will discuss how she has navigated her new role and worked to embody the ideas of being an audience centered institution and being of the nation and for all the people.
E. Carmen Ramos is Chief Curatorial and Conservation Officer at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She leads the curatorial and conservation teams as they serve the nation and beyond through collections development, ground-breaking scholarship, art conservation, and scientific research. Ramos previously served as the acting chief curator and curator of Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), where she built one of the largest collections of Latinx art at a museum of U.S. art. She organized award-winning exhibitions including ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now (2020), Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art (2013), and Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography (2017). In addition to her numerous catalogues, her scholarship appears in American Art, and in books including Picturing Cuba: Art, Culture and Identity on the Island.
The program will be presented onsite at the James B. Duke House and live-streamed to those who join us by Zoom. Zoom details will be available upon registration for virtual attendees. Register here to attend the event via Zoom. Register here to attend in-person.
ABOUT THE LATIN AMERICAN FORUM
The Latin American Forum is a platform sustained in partnership with ISLAA that brings artists, scholars, and critics of the arts of the Americas to the Institute of Fine Arts, providing a platform for discussions and debates about diverse issues pertaining to contemporary arts and visual cultures throughout the hemisphere.
This series of public programs and events is coordinated by Edward J. Sullivan, Helen Gould Shepard Professor in the History of Art, the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and organized by graduate students. Since partnering with ISLAA in 2011, NYU’s Latin American Forum has hosted more than thirty events.
Edward J. Sullivan is Helen Gould Sheppard Professor of the History of Art at New York University. He is the author of more than thirty books and exhibition catalogues on Latin American and Caribbean art.
