Miki Garcia was appointed Director of the Arizona State University Art Museum in December 2017. She was recently the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara from 2005-2017. Prior to this, she worked at the Public Art Fund, N.Y. from 2001 to 2004. From 1999 to 2001 Garcia was a Curatorial Associate at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego and has also worked at the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin and the San Antonio Museum of Art. At MCASB, Garcia worked with numerous emerging as well as internationally recognized artists including, Assume Vivid Astro Focus, Sanford Biggers, Michele O’Marah, Mickalene Thomas, Dasha Shishkin, Tam Van Tran, and Mario Ybarra, Jr. She has also completed numerous scholarly and professional publications and has taken part in juries and guest lectures including most recently Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue, Creative Capital, The Santo Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
As Director of ASUAM, Garcia manages the staff, facilities, budget, public relations, audience development, fundraising, programs, and exhibitions. In addition, she leads ASUAM with respect to curatorial and program development and community involvement. Garcia holds a BA from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY and a MA in Latin American art from the University of Texas at Austin. She speaks Italian and Spanish, and is passionately committed to making contemporary art accessible to all communities.