Qianjin Montoya

Independent Institutional Memory Research Curator (she/her/hers)

Originally from Sacramento, CA Qianjin Montoya has traveled with multiple organizations to explore socially engaged art practices in parts of Ghana, Spain, Italy, France and Cuba before graduating with a BA in Art History from UC Berkeley. Soon after graduating she moved to Portland, OR where she worked as an intern, administrator, and then finally as gallery co-director producing exhibits for TEDxPortland and The Inside Out Project featuring local and international artists. After returning to the Bay Area Montoya completed her MA in Curatorial Practice in 2017 from California College of the Arts. Her time at CCA facilitated a more critically engaged approach to Bay Area artists, present and past and specifically their relationship with local art institutions. That same year she was invited by the Curatorial team at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to research the historical context of “Bay Area Now 8” a Triennial showcasing local artists opening in the Fall of 2018. Qianjin is currently working with the Public Knowledge department at SFMOMA researching and developing a program focusing on community engagement through institutional memory and archival research.