PHOENIX, AZ.- Phoenix Art Museum has selected Christian Ramírez to serve as the Museum’s inaugural assistant curator of contemporary and community art initiatives. Ramírez will officially begin in the role on November 28, 2022.

“We are thrilled to welcome Christian Ramírez to the curatorial team at Phoenix Art Museum,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “As our assistant curator of contemporary and community art initiatives—the first curatorial role in the Museum’s history dedicated exclusively to artists working in Arizona today—Christian will create dynamic and meaningful exhibitions and public programs that transform the Museum’s role in elevating the work of our regional artists. With her knowledge, creativity, and passion for working with emerging and established artists, we are confident Christian will help us achieve our vision of a community-first Phoenix Art Museum that plays a pivotal role in strengthening the art ecosystem of the Southwest.”

As the Museum’s assistant curator of contemporary and community art initiatives, Ramírez will develop and lead a comprehensive institutional program designed to advance local, regional, and community art initiatives and foster appreciation for art of the 21st century. Her portfolio of responsibilities includes the creation of exhibitions, installations, public programs, and incubation programs that elevate Arizona-based artists and their work locally and nationally. She will also oversee the Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award program, the Sally and Richard Lehmann Emerging Artist Award program, the Eric Fischl Lecture Series (presented in collaboration with Phoenix College), and the annual Dawn and David Lenhardt Lecture series. Ramírez will additionally be responsible for growing the presence of Arizona-based artists in the Museum’s exhibitions and collection, with a specific focus on works by artists historically excluded from museum collections in the United States.

Ramírez comes to Phoenix Art Museum from Artpace in San Antonio, Texas, where she served as the artist-residency and exhibition manager. From 2018–2021, she served as the public-programs manager and, later, the interim head of education and engagement at Phoenix Art Museum. At PhxArt, she programmed a series of sold-out lectures to complement the special-engagement exhibition Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire. The series included the Museum’s first Spanish-language lecture in its 63-year history. Over the past decade, Ramírez has also curated exhibitions in Phoenix, Chicago, and Tucson through Everybody, a curatorial and gallery project she co-founded in 2016.