Congratulations Jose Roca! Parabéns!

Tate is delighted to announce the appointment of Colombian curator José Roca (b.1962) as the Estrellita B. Brodsky Adjunct Curator of Latin American Art. The post, which reflects Tate’s continuing commitment to broadening the geographical scope of the Collection, is for a period of three years from 2012 to 2015. 

José Roca began working in the post on 9 January 2012. He will take a leading role in developing Tate’s holdings of art from Latin America and will work closely with Tate’s Latin American Acquisitions Committee, now celebrating its tenth year. He will also represent Tate in Latin America, further developing and adding to the strong working relationships Tate has within the region. He will be based in his home city of Bogotá but will make regular visits to London. 

José Roca was the chief curator of the 8th Bienal do Mercosul (2011) in Porto Alegre, Brazil. For a decade he managed the arts programme and oversaw the development of the collection at the Banco de la República in Bogotá, establishing it as one of the most respected institutions in the Latin American circuit. Roca was a co-curator of the I Poly/graphic Triennial in San Juan, Puerto Rico (2004), the 27th Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2006) and the Encuentro de Medellín MDE07 (2007), and was the Artistic Director of Philagrafika 2010, Philadelphia’s international Triennial celebrating print in contemporary art. He served on the awards jury for the 52nd Venice Biennial (2007). José Roca has also curated numerous solo exhibitions focusing on the work of artists such as Oscar Munoz, Antoni Muntadas, Eugenio Dittborn, Regina Silveira and Julio Alpuy among others. 

Frances Morris, Head of Collection (International Art) at Tate said: “We look forward to welcoming José Roca to Tate and to beginning to work with him. His expertise and flair will be of huge benefit and will help to deepen the relationships we have already established in the region as well as forge new partnerships and strengthen our holdings from this important and dynamic part of the world”. 

José Roca said: “For many years I have worked on fostering the appreciation of the art from Latin America both locally and abroad. I am honoured to be able to continue working in this direction with such a serious and prestigious institution such as Tate”. 

For further information please contact Ruth Findlay Tate Press Office, Millbank, London, SW1P 4 RG Call +44 (0)20 7887 8730 email pressoffice@tate.org.uk

Notes to Editors

Estrellita Bograd Brodsky has a Ph.D. in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (2009) after receiving her Master’s degree in Art History from Hunter College (1996). 

Estrellita served as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees at the New York museum El Museo del Barrio until 2003 after having co-edited the book and co-organised the exhibition: Taíno: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture of the Caribbean in 1997. She also curated Carlos Cruz-Diez: (In)formed by Color at the Americas Society in New York and has taught on Post War Latin American artists at Hunter College. Forthcoming exhibitions which she is curating include Jesús Soto: Paris and Beyond, 1950-1970 at the New York University Grey Gallery in January 2012 and Julio Le Parc: Labyrinths in collaboration with El Museo del Barrio for 2013. 

Estrellita B Brodsky endowed the Estrellita Brodsky Curator for Latin American Art at the Museum of Modern Art, New York and is a member of the museum’s Latin American and Caribbean Acquisitions Committee. She is a board member of the American Friends of the Pompidou and serves on the Latin American Acquisitions Committee at Tate Modern. She was a founding member of the Multicultural Audience Development Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She received the 2011 Manhattan Borough President’s Outstanding Achievement award in recognition of her work in the field of Latin American Art.