Curator Cuauhtemoc Medina receives Walter Hopps Award for Curatorial Achievement

Cuauhtemoc Medina

Independent curator Cuauhtemoc Medina was named Friday, Nov. 9 the recipient of Houston's Menil Collection's Walter Hopps Award for Curatorial Achievement.

Established in 2001 in honor of Menil Founding Director Walter Hopps (1932–2005), the award recognizes curators who have made significant contributions to the field of contemporary art and includes a stipend of $15,000.

Medina has organized both large survey exhibitions and projects developed with individual artists and was head curator this year of the Manifesta 9 Biennial in Belgium.

The Menil Collection's Director Josef Helfenstein presented Medina with the award. 

“Whether working in an institutional setting, as he did with notable success at Tate Modern, or collaborating with artists with whom he has developed longstanding relationships, such as Francis Alys, Cuauhtemoc Medina has consistently and innovatively advanced our understanding of a broad spectrum of contemporary art. On behalf of all of us at the Menil Collection, I congratulate him on this richly deserved award,” Helfenstein said.

Medina has been a full-time researcher since 1992 at the Instituto de Investigaciones Esteticas at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Between 2002 and 2008, he was the first associate curator of art, Latin American collections, at Tate Modern in London. He has written extensively on contemporary art. He holds a doctorate in history and theory of art from the University of Essex in Britain and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

For more information, call 713-535-3170, visit www.menil.org.