BRONX, NY.- The Bronx Museum of the Arts announced today that José A. Ortiz will become the organization’s new Deputy Director, partnering with Executive Director Holly Block in the management of the Museum’s staff and assisting in the implementation of the Strategic Plan in conjunction with the Museum’s anticipated programmatic, operational, and fiscal growth. Mr. Ortiz comes with a wealth of experience in arts management, most recently as the Founding Director of Artisphere—the D.C.-region’s newest visual and performing arts center—and previously as Deputy Director of the Harvard Art Museums, where he oversaw the daily operation of the university’s three art museums—the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, and Fogg Museum.

Ortiz’s extensive background also includes serving as the Deputy Director/Chief of Finance and Administration at the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden from 2005 to 2009. From 1996 to 2005, Ortiz was the Manager for Administration at The Cloisters in New York, the branch museum of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Prior to that, he supported traveling exhibitions, programming, and marketing for the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum and served as Assistant Director of Visitor Services for The Paley Center for Media.

Ortiz is a graduate of Pace University and completed a graduate program with a master of arts in liberal studies from New York University. He is a regular lecturer and panelist at national and international universities, museums, and conferences, particularly on the subjects of museum administration, leadership development, and management during times of change and transition.

“I am delighted to be joining Holly Block in leading this internationally recognized and important cultural institution as it launches into a period of ambitious growth. Over the past years I have admired the Bronx Museum from afar, and now it will be exciting to play a pivotal role in its continued expansion.”

Executive Director Holly Block notes that, “with his extensive background in leading prestigious cultural institutions, José Ortiz brings invaluable management experience needed for the next phase of the Bronx Museum’s growth.”