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Fine Arts Center Welcomes New Curator
 The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center has appointed Tariana Navas-Nieves as
Curator of Hispanic and Native American Art. Navas-Nieves brings over fifteen
years of curatorial experience in both Hispanic and Native American Art to the
FAC. In her tenure at the Museo de las Américas in Denver, Tariana served as the
Curator of Collections of Latin American art from pre-Columbian times to the
present. She has also served as a consultant to the Denver Art Museum’s New
World Department, and as curator for a number of major private collections of
American Indian, Latin American, and American art in Denver, California, and
Puerto Rico.
Tariana Navas-Nieves has a Master of Arts in Art History, specializing in Latin
American Art. She has curated over 20 exhibitions, presented numerous public
lectures, and has taught at the university level. As Curator of Hispanic and
Native American Art, her responsibilities will include collection and exhibition
development and management, as well as heading exhibitions, loans, and
educational efforts for the Native American and Hispanic collections. She will
also train Fine Arts Center docents and conduct public lectures related to
Taylor Museum activities. Additionally, Navas-Nieves will play an integral role
in the Fine Arts Center’s continuing search for a Curator of 19th – 21st Century
Art.
“The opportunity to join the Fine Arts Center at this moment of dramatic growth
is very exciting,” expressed Navas-Nieves. She envisions in her new position “an
opportunity to reexamine the Fine Arts Center’s permanent collection with a
global perspective and display it in aesthetically pleasing vignettes that will
show the strength and range of the collection while connecting art in
non-traditional and dynamic ways.”
Through previous experience with the Taylor Museum collection, as well as
private collections of American, Native American and Hispanic Art, Navas-Nieves
comes to the Fine Arts Center with considerable knowledge of its collections.
“The importance placed on modern and contemporary art of the Americas was a key
factor in my decision to join the FAC. I am committed to actively augmenting the
collection with new acquisitions, especially in the area of 20th and 21st
century American Indian and Latin American art and photography.” She began on
December 18th and has hit the ground running in collections care, working on
upcoming exhibitions, and planning for the museum’s grand reopening on August 4,
2007.
With well over 10,000 objects in its collection, the Taylor Museum holds one of
the strongest Native American and Hispanic collections in the United States,
containing diverse artistic Latin American works from the 19th through 21st
century such as Santos from the Southwestern United States and the Caribbean,
Mexican sculptures and works on paper, and Guatemalan textiles, among others.
The Native American collection comprises southwestern Native American artifacts
and jewelry, including Navajo weavings and Pueblo pottery. In addition, the
Taylor Museum has one of the largest collections of Dale Chihuly art in North
America.
Founded in 1936, the Fine Arts Center is a privately funded, non-profit art
museum, performing arts theatre, and arts education center. It is currently
embarking on a multi-million dollar building initiative, and when new
construction is complete, the building will expand from 88,388 to 132,286 gross
square feet – a total expansion of 48,398 gross square feet. The renovated and
expanded Fine Arts Center opens to the public on August 4, 2007 with a grand
reopening celebration featuring a blockbuster traveling exhibition, special
guests and events. To learn more, visit
www.csfineartscenter.org.
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