The Art of Belonging

Fall 2024
By Amy C. Evans

Last year, Mia Lopez ’07 was named the first curator of Latinx art at the McNay Art Museum in her hometown of San Antonio. “This summer marks 20 years that I’ve been doing this work in some capacity in art museums and cultural spaces,” Lopez says. “It all started after my freshman year at Rice.” 

Lopez landed at Rice’s School of Humanities, pursuing an art history degree, after looking for an academically rigorous program and a diverse student body in a big city close to home. An internship at Rice Gallery inspired a strong desire in Lopez to work with living artists. Afterward, she earned two master’s degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and held curatorial positions with the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Then, during the pandemic, Lopez and her husband relocated to San Antonio to be closer to her family and start a family of their own. “It was a leap of faith,” Lopez recalls. “I felt like this is where my network is, this is where my community is — doors are going to open.”

When Lopez saw the job listing for the position at the McNay, she knew it was a perfect fit. “I’ve been going to that museum my whole life … [and now I’m] able to cater my approach as a curator, as an educator, as an art historian to this really unique and special place.”

The museum has had a relationship with and an interest in Mexico, Latin America and, of course, the diaspora of those regions since its opening 70 years ago.

Lopez says there’s an assumption that she must be starting from scratch as curator of Latinx art because the role is brand new, but she’s actually building off work that’s long been in progress at the McNay. “The museum has had a relationship with and an interest in Mexico, Latin America and, of course, the diaspora of those regions since its opening 70 years ago,” Lopez says, “and I am also supported by colleagues nationally who have been doing this work at their institutions.” 

She emphasizes that what she’s doing is connecting dots across the collection, identifying points of intersection with contemporary Latinx artists and finding ways to tell those stories. Lopez’s first big project for the McNay, opening in December, is an exhibition exploring 35 years of a Chicano aesthetic called “rasquachismo,” featuring work from the museum’s collection as well as pieces from other locally and nationally acclaimed artists.

In 2015, Lopez wrote an article about the San Antonio-based Chicano painter Mel Casas (1929–2014), who called himself a “cultural adjuster.” When asked if she sees herself in a similar light, Lopez considers the community beyond the walls of the McNay. “I do think that I’m a changemaker, but not necessarily just at the McNay,” she says. “I hope that there’s a ripple effect with the work that we are doing as an institution and throughout the field, and I hope that we’re also able to make a meaningful impact in our community.” Lopez adds that she and her colleagues often emphasize that the museum is a place of belonging for everyone.

Given that sentiment, Lopez has landed right where she belongs.