The Queer Curator
Getting to know the Blanton's talented curator, Evan Garza
By Dan Gray, 8:30AM, Mon. Apr. 11, 2016
Evan Garza’s resume is longer than yours. In fact, his abridged three-page curriculum vitae includes only the most impressive highlights of his extensive career – including guest lecturer at Harvard University, MIT, and The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston.
In 2013, he represented the United States in Spain as the inaugural curatorial research fellow for Hablar en Arte, Madrid. A year later, Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh appointed Garza to the Boston Art Commission for distinguished service in the arts.
Today, he’s the managing curator of the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin’s exhibit "Come as You Are: Art of the 1990s". It’s the first major museum exhibition to historically examine emerging art of the decade, open now through May 15. For the Blanton presentation of the show, Garza built on the existing checklist to include artworks produced during the AIDS crisis by such important artists as Felix Gonzalez-Torres, San Antonio native Donald Moffett, and New York queer agitprop collective Gran Fury.
And he takes as much pride in his curation as he does in Austin’s gay community. “I love Austin’s scene,” says Garza. “Everyone’s got their own night. There are so many points of entry into Austin’s queer community, and that’s what I love.”
Garza has always been really ambitious. At 33, the Houston native is the Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Blanton. A self-described queer man, Garza is also a champion for the queer community on a local and national level. He is the co-founder of Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR), a nonprofit organization in New York and the first residency program in the U.S. exclusively for LGBTQ artists.
“I think the term ‘queer’ is so important because it points to a spectrum, rather than a specificity, and I find that empowering.” says Garza. “Working with artists helped me realize the power and importance of the queer community. FIAR has been the most important experience I’ve had as a queer person and a queer professional.”
Garza grew up in Houston, and credits his parents for culturing him since birth. “Anyone can have access to spectacular art [in Houston]. Free museums like the CAMH and the Menil Collection are why I wanted to become a curator,” says Garza. “And the scale of those communities made it possible for me to come out, make friends, get a gallery job, and meet my husband.”
It was during 2007's South by Southwest when Garza met his now-husband, Michael Brodeur. It was also the beginning of his time on the east coast. Brodeur worked and lived in Boston, and only 14 months after that first meeting, Garza packed up and moved across the country. “Boston is a super-academic scene, so I really had to bring my A game,” Garza explained. The pair lived together in Bean Town for six years where Garza worked as a freelance art critic, curator, and co-director of FIAR. “I became an art critic by choice, but I became a curator on purpose,” he explains.
But it was Veronica Roberts – the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Blanton – who brought Garza back to the Lone Star state. “I never thought I’d come back to Texas so soon, but I jumped at the opportunity to work with Veronica.” Garza works closely with Roberts on exhibitions, acquisition strategies, the museum’s impressive collection, and on various research projects.
“When Evan joined the Blanton in November 2014, he really hit the ground running,” Roberts says of her coworker. “His commitment to art and artists is wholehearted — and it’s evident not only in the shows he has managed, but also in the way he is mentoring M.F.A. students at UT. We are thrilled to have his talent and energy at the Blanton.”
Austin queer leader Paul Soileau agrees that Garza is a great match for Austin. “Evan is a powerhouse and a fully charged conductor of our LGBTQ community's artistic energy. I'm glad he's here doing what he does best.”
Catch Garza and "Come As You Are" at the Blanton now through May 15.
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Aug. 16, 2016
Blanton Museum of Art, "Come As You Are: Art of the 1990s", "Come As You Are", Evan Garza, Queer Austin, LGBTQ
