CECILIA LEONORA VARGAS

ceciliaclv [at] gmail [dot] com • www.cecilialvargas.com • LinkedIn profile

10+ year Experienced arts professional with a passion for making art accessible. Vargas offers extensive arts administration and project management experience to collectors, artists, and organizations. Her work ethic is mission based, customer service focused, and best practice oriented. She takes the necessary care to ensure logistics are on track to realize a project’s vision within given parameters. Over the years of managing arts programs, she has developed an approach to fostering artistic and professional development through trustworthy relationships. As a creative and resourceful problem solver, she relishes new challenges and opportunities for shared learning.

CONSULTING SKILLS

Curatorial, Identifying artistic talent, Exhibition development/Production, Collections Development, Advising on collection strategy, Identifying relevant acquisitions, Collections Management, Organizing, Cataloging

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Organization, attention to detail, problem-solving, adaptable yet consistent, relationship-building, collaboration, communication, marketing, event planning, logistics, setting goals, establishing priorities, meeting deadlines, achieving objectives, management of databases, inventory, and multiple simultaneous projects

TECHNICAL SKILLS

PC and Apple OS, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator), Canva, G-suite, MS Office Suite, Content Management Systems (Cascade, Localist, Squarespace), FileMaker Pro, MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Social media

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO                                                       2022 – 2023 

Director of Exhibitions, Department of Exhibitions, Performance and Student Spaces

Managed all aspects of exhibitions. Oversaw 1 staff member, and 3 student workers, and collaborated with them to accomplish departmental goals.

  • Managed 3 exhibition spaces. Annually produced approximately 20 exhibitions.

  • Work with the Executive Director on the Wabash Arts Corridor, which consisted of approximately 58 murals by an international roster of artists and the Corri-doors student and recent graduate murals on area doors.

  • Worked on file management, inventories, and establishing brand consistency and systematic organization.

CITY OF AURORA PUBLIC ART DIVISION

Project Assistant 2021 – 2022  

Independent Curator 2022 – present   

Managed all aspects of exhibitions, and planned for Visiting Artist programs.

  • Planned and coordinated logistics, led from inception to realization, researched, publicized, and engaged in coordination with other departments that are a part of the City of Aurora’s Community Services Department, and produced exhibitions and events.

  • Coordinated exhibition of 140 artworks by Aurora students K-12, and facilitated reception.

  • Assisted in the installation of 4 banner murals.

MORAINE VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Art Gallery Coordinator              2021 – 2022

Managed all aspects of 7 Exhibitions, and 2+ Visiting Artist programs.

  • Planned and coordinated logistics, led from inception to realization, researched, publicized, and engaged in interdepartmental coordination.

  • Initiated exhibition archive to provide overview of institutional history. 

  • Managed MVCC juried art competitions, exhibitions, and purchases, including their participation in Skyway, an annual intercollegiate art competition and exhibition between eight regional colleges,

VARGAS ART CONSULTING                           Art Consultant                              2010 – present   

Responsible for providing art consulting services including curatorial, project, and collections management to collectors, artists, and organizations on a contract basis.

Select assignment as Archivist

THE FRANKLIN COLLECTION                        Archivist                              2019 – 2020

Archiving The Franklin Collection owned by artist Edra Soto and Dan Sullivan. The Franklin is both a backyard exhibition space and private collection accessible to the public through events, receptions, scheduled tours, and its web presence. Funding supported through a 3Arts matching grant.

  • Conducted extensive grass roots research on provenance. 

  • Developed database with 15 categories, cataloged 180 artworks on display. This information will be available for the collectors to use for internal (e.g. artwork on loan: label information and tracking) and or external purposes (e.g. publication about the collection and gallery maps with object identification).  

  • Collaborated on grant writing.                          

Select assignment as Curator   

NATIONAL WOMEN’S CAUCUS FOR ART      Curator and Juror                   2020

Invited to jury and curate the National Women’s Caucus for Art’s (WCA) 2020 open call exhibition.

  • Presented the exhibition entitled Collectively Shifting at the Bridgeport Art Center. Represented the WCA and the exhibition at public events (e.g. the building-wide open studio events and exhibition reception that accompanied the WCA annual conference).

  • Developed call for art and exhibition statement with the national WCA’s exhibition committee. Reviewed and juried 160 submissions, selected 42 artworks through Entrythingy platform.

  • Provided feedback on brochure development, wrote essay, and distributed print edition of 1,000.


WAUBONSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE          Art Coordinator                             2013 – 2020

Annually managed all aspects of 25 Exhibitions, 10 Visiting Artist programs, and the Permanent Collection (322 artworks). 

  • Organized logistics, led from inception to realization, researched, oversaw budget, developed publicity, and engaged in interdepartmental coordination.

  • Created archive to provide overview of institutional history for NASAD (the National Association of Schools of Art and Design) accreditation review. Resulted in 14 year hardcopy archive and five year digital archive that was a strong tool. It helped attain NASAD accreditation.

  • Managed WCC’s participation in an annual intercollegiate art competition and exhibition between eight regional colleges, including host planning and coordination responsibilities during COVID 19 shut down. Pivoted, solicited artist statements for 37 artworks, collaboratively produced video and digital/printed catalog and ensured they were represented on the website and on social media.

THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO        Associate                  2007 – 2012

Selected assignments 

Special Programs Coordinator, Campus Life                                                               2012

Project Manager, Office of Exhibition Practices                                                           2008– 2010

Teaching Assistant, Intermediate and Advanced Lithography                                     2008

Studio Program Coordinator, Multicultural Arts High School 2007

EDUCATION

Dual Degree: Master of Art in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism, and Master of Art in Arts Administration and Policy, 2010, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Chicago, IL, Emphasis of study on Exhibition Studies

Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1998, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, Graduated Cum Laude, Emphasis of study on Painting and Printmaking

Summer Study Program, 1996, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland,Emphasis of study on Painting and Drawing