This popular series of lectures and presentations by artists, architects, historians, and critics is free and open to the public. Lectures begin at 6 pm in the Modern’s auditorium. Seating is at 5:30 pm. A livestream broadcast of the lecture will be available online.
A limited number of tickets (limit two per person) will be available for purchase ($5) from 10 am until 3 pm the day of the lecture online. Free admission tickets (limit two per person) are available at the Modern’s information desk beginning at 4 pm on the day of the lecture.
On Tuesday nights during the lecture series, the galleries and shop are open until 6 pm and Café Modern’s bar is open with special artist-inspired signature cocktails (no food service available.) Lectures will not be broadcast into the café this season.
Podcasts of these lectures are available at www.themodern.org/podcasts, two weeks after the presentation date.
Video recordings of the lectures are available on the Modern’s YouTube channel.
María Elena Ortiz
April 11, 6 pm
María Elena Ortiz, curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, comes to the Modern from the Pérez Art Museum in Miami (PAMM), where she curated discerning exhibitions such as Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection and The Other Side of Now: Foresight in Caribbean Art. With curatorial research informed by African diaspora, Latin American, and Latinx art histories, Ortiz’s scholarship and insights are sought-after and timely; she has received international writing, curatorial, and speaking invitations from prestigious institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the National Museum of African American Art and Culture, Washington DC; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, San Juan; Matadero, Madrid; Museu Arte Contempoaneo, Barcelona; and Videobrasil, São Paulo.
For this Tuesday Evenings at the Modern presentation, Ortiz has generously agreed to share her curatorial interests and inclinations which provide an expansive view of art history and culture, as represented in past and upcoming projects.
Curator María Elena Ortiz joined the Modern in 2022. In addition to curatorial positions at the Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros in Mexico City and the Pérez Art Museum Miami, she has served as curatorial advisor for the Horizon Art Foundation in Los Angeles. As a curator, her exhibitions to date include Teresita Fernández: Elemental, American Echo Chamber: José Carlos Martinat, william cordova: now’s the time, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz: A Universe of Fragile Mirrors, Ulla von Brandenburg: It Has a Golden Sun and an Elderly Grey Moon, Firelei Báez: Bloodlines, and Carlos Motta: Histories for the Future, some of which have traveled to the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; El Museo de Barrio, New York; and the DePaul Art Museum, Chicago. At PAMM and with support of the Mellon Foundation, Ortiz founded and spearheaded the Caribbean Cultural Institute (CCI)—a curatorial platform dedicated to Caribbean art. During her tenure in Miami, Ortiz worked to diversify the museum’s collection, securing works by Simone Leigh, Bisa Butler, Bony Ramirez, and others. She developed significant public programs, such as At the Crossroads: Critical Film and Video from the Caribbean and Latinx Art Sessions, along with other symposia related to exhibitions. Along with her numerous catalog contributions, she has contributed to writing platforms such as the Davidoff Art Initiative, Curating Now, and Terremoto Magazine. In 2014 she was awarded the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC) and Independent Curators International (ICI) Travel Award for Central America and the Caribbean, and she received the Emerging Curator Award from the Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, in 2012.
April 4 – Mendi + Keith Obadike, artists
April 8 – Special Program with Morehshin Allahyari and American Artist, artists
April 11 – Maria Elena Ortiz, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth curator
April 18 – Kahlil Robert Irving, artist (Rescheduled from March 7)
LOCATION
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
3200 Darnell Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Telephone 817.738.9215
Toll-Free 1.866.824.5566
Museum Gallery Hours
Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm (before lectures until 6 pm)
Fri 10 am-8 pm
General Admission Prices (includes special exhibition)
$16: General (age 18 and above)
$12: Seniors (age 60+), Active/Retired Military Personnel and First Responders with ID
$10: Students with ID
Free: Under 18 years old
The Museum offers half-price tickets on Sundays and free admission on Fridays.
The Museum is closed Mondays and holidays, including New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas.