Mauricio Velasco
/ Founder / Artist Manager / The smArt Collective /
Portrait, Maurico Velasco, 2020, The smArt Collective, Los Angeles © Jairo Melara
Education
University of San Francisco
Master of Arts - Museum Studies, 2020
University of California, Riverside
Bachelor of Science - Anthropology, 2014
University of Wellington, New Zealand Bachelor of Science - Anthropology, Study Abroad 2013
About
Mauricio Velasco has a professional background in the museum industry, encompassing a broad background in Curation, Collections, and Exhibitions. He was born in El Salvador and raised in Los Angeles.
From an early age Mauricio was exposed to art in the streets of Los Angeles, ranging from your everyday prominent street artist like Kenny Scharf and his whimsical cartoonesque murals found all over the city. He grew up in what is now the Downtown Culver City Arts District. Mauricio visited well-known museum institutions like The Getty Center, Getty Villa, and Museum of Tolerance thanks to school trips.
Upon graduating high school, Mauricio pursued his college education and interest in different cultures by majoring in Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. It is during this time that he got his first job working in a museum as a Preparator for UCR ARTS, composed of the California Museum of Photography (founded in 1973), the Jack and Marilyn Sweeney Art Gallery (1963), and the Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts (2010).
After completing his bachelor's degree and picking up more experience working with Collections at The Wende Museum of the Cold War, Mauricio relocated from Southern California to attend the University of San Francisco in order to obtain his Master's Degree in Museum Studies.
During and since the completion of his Master of Arts in Museum Studies, Mauricio has expanded his professional expertise in the museum field and the much broader art world. Mauricio has served as a Teaching Artist for the de Young Museum, Co-Curator for the Thacher Gallery and the University of California, San Francisco, as well as a Collections Manager for the East Bay Regional Park District, and most recently a Docent for the Museum of Latin American Art.
Mauricio is looking to network and collaborate with like-minded people who wish to push the envelope on what art can be when professionals come together to promote their work. Along Maurcio's career path and education, he has made connections with various professionals in the arts.
With the ensuing pandemic, the arts have been drastically hit, with many institutions closing and the ever increasing competition for work amongst artists and art professionals rising. In response, Mauricio has created The smArt Collective to combat the economic hit the art world has taken by bringing artists and art professional together to work as a collective, with the sole aim to provide opportunities.
Work Experience
Jun. 2019 – Jan. 2020
UCSF Library Archives and Special Collections
San Francisco, CA
Curatorial Intern
Jul. 2019 – Jan. 2019
East Bay Regional Park District
Oakland, CA
Collections Manager
Oct. 2018 – Jun. 2019
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
(de Young)
San Francisco, CA
Teaching Artist
Oct. 2018 – Jun. 2019
California Historical Society Museum
San Francisco, CA
Visitors Service Guest Concierge
Aug. 2018 – Sept. 2018
San Francisco, CA
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Museum Educator
Nov. 2016 – Jun. 2018
The Wende Museum
Culver City, CA
Collections/Preparator
Sep. 2012 – Jun. 2014
California Museum of Photography/Sweeney Art Gallery
Riverside, CA
Facilities
Exhibitions
Socialist Flower Power:
Soviet Hippie Culture
May 2018 – Aug. 2018
The Wende Museum
(Assistant Preparator)
Quiet Spaces:
Picturing Sanctuary in the Illustrated Book
Nov. 2018 – Feb. 2019
Thacher Gallery
(Co - Curator)
Studio Missíon:
The Artist Studio as Medium
by René Yañez
Jan. 2019 – Nov. 2019
Thacher Gallery
(Co - Designer)
Westward the Course of Empire
Mar. 2019 – Oct. 2019
California Historical Society
(Preparator)
They Were Really Us:
The UCSF Community’s Early Response to AIDS
Jun. 2019 – Jan. 2020
UCSF Library Archives and Special Collections
(Co - Curator)
Managed Artists
Publication Highlight
Shoutout LA - (Los Angeles Based Magazine)
"Every day we ask our contributors and interviewees questions designed to spark meaningful conversations. We ask questions about life, work, love, parenting, finances, and more. Questions like how you think about risk-taking, work-life balance, or online dating. We ask entrepreneurs why they started their business and we ask artists what their work is inspired by.
We think meaningful conversations are at the heart of community building. We also think every voice matters and that these conversations shouldn’t be led by billionaires, media elites, or celebrities. We feel it’s far more relevant to hear from the folks who make up the fabric of our communities – small business owners, mom-and-pops, and independent artists and creatives.
Shoutout LA is part of the Los Angeles based Voyage Group of Magazines and our flagship publication, VoyageLA was started in 2015. Since then we’ve grown to almost a dozen cities, generated millions of page views and helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and creatives share their stories. Along the way we’ve built a vibrant and highly engaged community and Shoutout is about giving that community an opportunity to go beyond stories. By focusing on topics that are relevant to almost everyone we hope to inspire important conversations within the community and do so in way that puts artists, creatives and local businesses at the center of these conversations."
Links (Full Article On The Website):
Instagram -
Website -
Contact
Organization:
The smArt Collective
smartcollective2021@gmail.com
TEL : 1 (415) 716 1432
Founder, CEO, and Artist Manager:
Mauricio Miguel Velasco, M.A.
Museum Studies | University of San Francisco
smartcollective2021@gmail.com
TEL : 1 (415) 716 1432