Previously Deputy Director for Art at Seattle Art Museum, Diaz Plans To Drive Forward Accessibility and Cross-Cultural Dialogues.
(MIAMI, FL — September 16, 2025) — Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is pleased to announce the appointment of José Carlos Diaz as senior director of curatorial affairs & chief curator, following a national search. Diaz was selected for his globally attuned, community-focused curatorial vision, and dedication to accessibility, cross-cultural dialogue, and elevating both established and emerging artists—especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Diaz will begin this new role at PAMM on October 13, 2025.
“I see PAMM as both a cultural anchor and a civic gathering place in Miami—one uniquely positioned to reflect and connect the city’s many communities,” said José Carlos Diaz, PAMM senior director of curatorial affairs & chief curator. “I aim to make art accessible to as many people as possible. My curatorial approach consistently features globally influential artists, reinterpreting their legacies through modern lenses. I am excited to join forces with PAMM and work to foster cross-cultural dialogues and new perspectives.”
Diaz comes to PAMM from the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), where he served as the Susan Brotman deputy director for art. There, Diaz managed the museum’s artistic program across its three locations. During his tenure, he notably launched the multi-year Calder at SAM initiative, celebrating the work of Alexander Calder, and curated the critically-acclaimed inaugural exhibition Calder: In Motion. Currently at SAM is the solo artist exhibition he organized Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light. He also organized the long-term installation, FriendsWithYou: Little Cloud Sky, which opened this July, and served as the institutional curator on the traveling shows Suchitra Mattai: she walked in reverse and found their songs and Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence, among many other contributions. Prior to this role, Diaz was the chief curator at The Andy Warhol Museum, orchestrating the exhibitions Paola Pivi: I Want It All and Farhad Moshiri: Go West, among others.
“We are excited to welcome José Carlos Diaz to the team! While his reach and breadth of expertise is global, having worked in Liverpool in addition to Seattle and Pittsburgh, José is no stranger to Miami, having also worked at the Bass Museum. His unparalleled understanding of the history of art in Miami, and around the world, will be an asset to the institution as we continue to lead that evolving conversation. José’s knowledge and experience in museums also makes him the perfect person to lead and guide our curatorial team into the future,” said Franklin Sirmans, Sandra and Tony Tamer Director at PAMM.
Diaz’s position in Miami represents a homecoming of sorts—he previously held positions at The Bass Museum of Art, The Rubell Museum, and even PAMM when it was still known as Miami Art Museum. As chief curator at PAMM, Diaz plans to build on the museum’s role as a cultural anchor by developing visually striking, intellectually engaging, and widely accessible exhibitions that connect Miami’s local narratives to the broader global art conversation.
ABOUT JOSÉ CARLOS DIAZ
José Carlos Diaz is a specialist in modern and contemporary art with extensive experience in exhibition making, programming, and public art projects. Most recently, he worked at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) as the Susan Brotman deputy director for art. There, he managed the artistic program across three locations, including the Seattle Asian Art Museum and Olympic Sculpture Park.
Exhibitions Diaz has curated at SAM include Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light (2025-26); FriendsWithYou: Little Cloud Sky (2025); Anida Yoeu Ali: Hybrid Skin, Mythical Presence (2024); and Calder: In Motion, the Shirley Family Collection (2023-24). Diaz organized Suchitra Mattai: she walked in reverse and found their songs (2025); a site-specific commission by Diego Cibelli within SAM’s historic Porcelain Room (2024-26); and Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence (2023-24).
Prior to this, he was the chief curator at The Andy Warhol Museum from 2016 to 2022. At The Warhol, Diaz curated Paola Pivi: I Want It All (2022); Typoe: Over the Rainbow (2021); Fantasy America (2021); Jordan Eagles: Illuminations (2019); Farhad Moshiri: Go West (2017-18); and the traveling exhibitions Andy Warhol: Revelation (The Warhol, 2019-20; The Brooklyn Museum, 2021-22; Speed Art Museum, 2020); and Becoming Andy Warhol (UCCA Beijing, 2021; UCCA Edge, 2021-22), among others.
Before his role at The Warhol, Diaz served as curator of exhibitions at The Bass in Miami Beach and held curatorial positions at Tate Liverpool and the Liverpool Biennial. In 2003, Diaz tenured as a curatorial intern at The Rubell Museum in Miami and launched a nomadic project called Worm-Hole Laboratory. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history from San Francisco State University and a Master of Arts in cultural history from the University of Liverpool. Diaz was a 2018 fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC).
ABOUT PAMM
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), led by Franklin Sirmans, Sandra and Tony Tamer Director, promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture, and design, and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas. The 41-year-old South Florida institution, formerly known as Miami Art Museum (MAM), opened a new building, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, on December 4, 2013, in Downtown Miami’s Maurice A. Ferré Park. The facility is a state-of-the-art model for sustainable museum design and progressive programming and features 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor program space with flexible galleries; shaded outdoor verandas; a waterfront restaurant and bar; a museum shop; and an education center with a library, media lab, and classroom spaces.
