Alumni Spotlight: Claudia Zapata

Claudia Zapata (Ph.D. ’22) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.

Art History alum Claudia Zapata is shaping national conversations about identity, representation, and the evolving narratives of Chicanx and Latinx art. A graduate of the SMU Meadows School of the Arts’ RASC/a: Rhetorics of Art, Space, and Culture Ph.D. program, Zapata now serves as Associate Curator of Latino Art at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, where they oversee a growing collection and develop exhibitions and programs that center Latino voices and experiences.

Today at the Blanton, Zapata curates innovative exhibitions such as De moda: Fashion, Ceremony, and Symbols of Resilience, which explores how clothing and adornment embody cultural identity and endurance. Their current project, Radical Histories: Chicanx Prints from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, was previously displayed at Colby College Museum of Art (Waterville, ME) and will soon be on view at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens (San Marino, CA), continuing their commitment to making Latinx art and history accessible to wider audiences.

“My Ph.D. enabled me to develop as a scholar and intellectual collaborator, laying a foundation for advancing knowledge,” Zapata says, explaining how their time at Meadows was instrumental in developing both their scholarly practice and collaborative spirit.

Before joining the Blanton, Zapata’s career included curatorial and research positions that helped redefine how museums engage with Chicanx and Latinx art histories. They served as curatorial assistant of Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, contributing to the acclaimed exhibition ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965–Now. Their earlier work as curator at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin included organizing exhibitions such as A Viva Voz: Carmen Lomas Garza and Fantastic & Grotesque: José Clemente Orozco in Print, establishing Zapata as a vital voice in Texas and national art circles.

“The faculty and fellow students [at Meadows] provided an invaluable framework for my improvement as a writer, digital humanist, administrator and teacher,” says Zapata, reflecting on school’s culture of mentorship and support. “The responsibility and value of being a mentor is a practice that I have implemented throughout my career.”

As a member of the Meadows 2050 Council, Zapata continues to give back to the institution that helped shape their path. Having received a fellowship for their studies, they wanted to pay it forward and support Meadows with an equal amount of dedication as the school showed them, paving the way for future alumni to thrive professionally as Zapata has.