J. Gibran Villalobos
J. Gibran Villalobos is an arts administrator, curator, and educator focused on civic engagement and cultural policy.
J. Gibran Villalobos is the National Engagement Program Manager for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). His current work is set to help in the establishment of the forthcoming National Museum of the American Latino as approved by U.S. Congress. In Chicago he serves as the interim Executive Director of the Chicago Artists Coalition.
Prior to working for the IMLS, he has held posts as Assistant Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Public Programs and Partnerships Manager for the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Cultural Liaison for the Chicago Park District, and Curator-in-Residence for the Chicago Cultural Center.
He is a Civic Leadership Academy Fellow at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy where he worked with government and nonprofit sector participants to think about effective policy for Chicago’s cultural industries. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Department of Arts Administration & Policy.
Gibran currently serves as Chair of the Chicago Artists Coalition Board of Directors, and previous founding member of the Auxiliary Board of the National Museum of Mexican Art. He holds a BA in Art History and a BS in Public Relations from Northern Arizona University and an MA in Arts Administration & Policy and MA in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.