PATRICIA CARIÑO VALDEZ

Patricia Cariño Valdez is the Curator and Director of Public Programs at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). She oversees exhibition coordination including research, interpretation, and presentation of 8–10 contemporary art exhibitions per year. Additionally, she develops public engagement initiatives including ICA Live!, a performance art program, and Talking Art, a series of panel discussions and artist lectures, portfolio reviews, and workshops.

Prior to the ICA, Valdez worked at the intersection of arts and sciences as the Public Programs Coordinator and Development Specialist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Her curatorial projects have been held at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium, Oakland Museum of California, Pro Arts, California College of the Arts, and numerous independent galleries and art spaces in San Francisco and Oakland.

She currently serves as an advisory board member of Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco/Bay Area and is a member of the Public Art Advisory Committee for the City of Oakland. In 2016, Valdez was selected to participate in the Independent Curators International Curatorial Intensive in Manila, Philippines. She was born in Manila and grew up along the West Coast of the U.S. Valdez earned a BA in History of Art from the University of California, Berkeley and an MA in Curatorial Practice from the California College of the Arts.