Arts and Culture Organizations in Austin and El Paso Announce New Hires and Promotions

The Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, the El Paso Museum of Art, and the El Paso Museum of History have announced promotions and new hires.

Luisa Fernanda Perez. Photo: Raul Rodriguez

In September, Mexic-Arte announced the departure of Adrienne Brown, Development Coordinator, and Isabel Servantez, Curator and Director of Programs. Mr. Servantez had been with the organization since 2021 and has accepted the position of Collections Curator at AltaMed, a health services company that has one of the largest Chicano art collections in the world. With these shifts in staff, Luisa Fernanda Perez who had served as Curator of Education & Internship Coordinator has been promoted to Curator of Exhibitions and Director of Programs. 

Ms. Perez holds an MA in Art History, Criticism, and Conservation from the University of Houston and a BA in Art History, Criticism, and Conservation from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Prior to joining Mexic-Arte, she held the positions of graduate fellow at the Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies and the International Center for the Arts of the Americas, Assistant Art Editor of the literary journal Gulf Coast, intern at the El Paso Museum of Art, as well as teaching positions in Ciudad Juárez.

Indira Yadira Ariana García Varela

Last week, the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) announced the appointment of Indira Yadira Ariana García Varela as its Assistant Curator, following the promotion of Claudia Preza to Development Manager in July. Ms. García Varela will report to Michael Reyes, the museum’s recently appointed Senior Curator. In this role, she will support research, exhibitions development, Spanish-language interpretation, and will be an integral part of the 2026 Border Biennial planning team.  

Ms. García Varela was born in Chihuahua, México and moved to Arizona from Ciudad Juárez to pursue her education. She holds a PhD in Spanish with a graduate certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Kansas, an MA in Spanish, and a BA in Art History from Arizona State University (ASU).

Since 2012, Ms. García Varela has worked in various departments at diverse institutions, including collections, education, and curatorial. She served as Assistant Curator at the Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City, Assistant Curator and Print Room Assistant at ASU Art Museum, and Spanish Materials Preservation Project Assistant at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas. Additionally, she has worked as a co-curator at The Sagrado Galleria in South Phoenix and the City of Phoenix Department of Arts and Culture. During her time in Kansas, she partnered with the Lawrence Arts Center and the Watkins Museum of History to develop exhibitions and workshops that promoted Latin American artists.

Jessica Sapien

Also, the El Paso Museum of History (EPMH) has appointed Jessica Sapien as Assistant Curator. In this role, she will lead the team in development of community gallery exhibitions and will assist with the research and content development for the main galleries. Ms. Sapien will report to Quetzaly Segovia, the museum’s Curator. 

Ms. Sapien is a native El Pasoan who holds an MA in Public History from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and a BA in History from UTEP. From 2019 to 2021, she was the Marketing Clerical Assistant at EPMH. More recently, she was the Emerging Museum Professionals Intern at the Johnson County Museum in Kansas. In that capacity, she assisted with exhibition research and collections management. 

In 2023, Ms. Sapien was awarded the Martha Jane Starr Library Research Award for her thesis research on Chicana zinesters in Texas, who have used the self-published small books to speak about motherhood and social justice, cultivating a feminist community through the process. In 2024, the arts professional moved back to El Paso and worked in a contract position as Collections Archivist at EPMH. Earlier this week she officially stepped into her new role.