V. Gina Diaz is A PhD candidate in the Department of American Studies at the University of New Mexico as an interdisciplinary scholar, she focuses on contemporary art, visual culture, and cultural politics at the intersection of race, sexuality, and gender. Gina’s areas of research and teaching are women of color, indigenous, and transnational feminisms; queer of color critique; and cultural studies including art and visual culture, critical museum studies, and cultural politics of the Américas. The Mellon and Ford Foundations have generously supported her doctoral research. Gina has presented her work in numerous academic and museum venues and has taught at the Universities of California and New Mexico. She became curator at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s art museum after earning her MA in Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University in the San Francisco Bay Area, and also worked on various museum projects including the California Indian Heritage Center and with the Smithsonian Latino Center. Gina’s community work includes leadership in the national Museums & Race collective; collaboration with Museums as a Site for Social Action (or MASS Action) at the Minneapolis Institute of Art; exhibition development as a board member of the Gutiérrez-Hubbell House; and curatorial work with the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
