Patricia Cariño Valdez

Patricia Cariño Valdez is an independent curator and project manager based in Oakland, CA. Her current projects include: curating Super Sarap at Erica Broussard Gallery (Formerly Gallery 6/6/7) in Santa Ana, CA; developing public programs related to special exhibitions such as The World of Charles and Ray Eames and Queer California: Untold Stories at the Oakland Museum of California; and researching and writing as part of Casa de Palomitas, a collaborative research and writing project with Cesar Valdez. She formerly served as the Curator and Director of Public Programs at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in California. While there, she developed 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 created public programs that were invested in the the intersection of arts and sciences at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Additionally, Valdez worked closely with a San Francisco art advisor to help build and expand private art collections throughout the U.S. Her curatorial projects have been held at the San Francisco State University, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (San Francisco, CA), Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium (San Francisco, CA), Oakland Museum of California, Pro Arts (Oakland, CA), California College of the Arts (San Francisco, CA), and numerous independent galleries and art spaces in the Bay Area. In 2016, she 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.