Jorge Rojas

Born in Morelos, Mexico, Jorge Rojas is an artist, independent curator, and art educator. He studied Art at the University of Utah and at Bellas Artes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Rojas uses performance, visual art, and social engagement to examine cultural, social, and mediated forms of communication. His work and curatorial projects have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the U.S., including Museo del Barrio and Queens Museum of Art in New York; New World Museum and Project Row Houses in Houston; and UMFA and Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City. He has received grants and fellowships from NPN/VAN, Experimental Television Center, and Vermont Studio Center. In 2009 he founded Low Lives, an international, multi-venue online performance festival, where he served as director, producer, and curator. At UMFA, he oversees all education, community engagement, and public programming initiatives for the museum. Prior to his appointment, Rojas was site director for the Venture Humanities Course, where he promoted continuing education among immigrant, refugee, and under-represented populations through a partnership between local universities and Utah Humanities. He taught art history to high school students through the Clemente Course in the Humanities, and was the first Teaching Artist-in-Residence at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, where he developed and integrated art programming into the hospital setting through outpatient and inpatient classes, workshops, and exhibitions. Jorge lives and works in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his two sons, Felix and Emiliano.