The new executive director at MOCA Tucson blends global perspectives with local roots, a mix she hopes will nurture the museum’s growth as a binational home to the city’s contemporary art.
Gabriela Rangel took the helm on Sept. 1 with more than 20 years’ experience as a curator, arts editor, institutional strategist and leader for art organizations.
Rangel credited the leadership of the museum, which was established in 1997, at guiding the organization through three years of exponential growth.
“They projected the idea of the beehive,” Rangel said. “My role will be to really implement the beehive and make the museum relational.”
Rangel is committed to ensuring the museum, while building on its international reputation and its close connections to Mexico, stays relevant to Tucson and the characteristics that define the city. As someone who has lived in many countries and states throughout her career, Rangel said the beauty of the desert and the personality of the people are big draws to Tucson.
The relevance comes not in engaging in political issues, but in creating an archive of outstanding art.
“Contemporary art is the art that is produced now and when we historize it, it is not contemporary anymore,” Rangel said. “Museums of contemporary art shouldn’t make the mistake to do what journalism does, because it’s different.”
While she has a curatorial background, she draws a distinction between that work and the executive director role she is taking on.
“I’m not going to be the curator—my role is to have a conversation with the curatorial department and the board,” Rangel said.
Rangel said she is fascinated by artificial intelligence and the many different ways that artists are using artificial intelligence.
“They are transforming artificial intelligence into a tool, and not into a logo-centric machine,” Rangel said. “It’s not going to be the center of their practice or production, but rather a tool in a toolbox. Museums should use this technology as a toolbox.”
MOCA Tucson holds a unique position as a museum and a part of the region’s cultural life. It is the only museum devoted entirely to experimental contemporary art and new artist commissions. It presents exhibitions, public programs and educational initiatives that reflect the identities of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.
Rangel is succeeding Laura Copelin who has been serving as interim director. Copelin will continue at the museum as Deputy Director and Lead Curator, leading the museum’s special projects, including its Artist in Residency program.
Rangel has held several leadership positions at museums around North America. Recently, she filled the roles of consultant in Mexico City and the Artistic Director of Museo de Arte Latinomericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA). She helped to transform the museum’s outreach and programming during the pandemic.
Rangel was also a long-time director of visual arts and chief curator at the Americas Society in New York and worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
As someone with two masters degrees, including one in curatorial studies, Rangel has clear ideas of what a museum should be and the role it should play in a community.
“First of all, museums are not entertainment,” Rangel said. “Museums have a pedagogical role, but it’s not the same as a school. They should provide an experience that brings knowledge to people, not only entertainment.”
Rangel is also an editor and writer with extensive publication experience, experience she hopes to integrate into her role at MOCA Tucson.
“I’m very interested in digital platforms because they are rich, much more than a book,” Rangel said. “And I’m an editor — I’m producing two books this year, one by a well-known Mexican artist and another one by a modernist artist. But the internet has a lot of possibilities and museums underuse it or think that they are a platform, and we cannot compete with entertainment platforms.”
Rangel believes that museums instead need to get very creative and targeted about how they use their digital space.
She points out that society exists in a time that moves at an increasingly fast pace and the museum must constantly figure out its place and be grounded in the time.
“We live in such an acceleration,” Rangel said. “You cannot think about the future. You cannot think about the present. You cannot think about the past. The speed of technology, of artificial intelligence—we need to learn how to deal with a machine that thinks much faster than you do. That’s the challenge of digital computing and digital humanities. We have to not run against the current because we are afraid of technology. But we need to think — the people who produce the technology need to be thinking about it and debating about it. We need to take the time.”
Time is part of what has drawn Rangel to Tucson. During her final days in New York City before moving, she said that she needs to land in Tucson and take the opportunity to feel the landscape and get to know the people. She doesn’t want to be in a constant state of acceleration.
“That’s the reason why I’m moving to Tucson,” Rangel said.” I think it’s important to defend the temporality of humanities. To read, you need time. You need time to write. You need time to process things. You are not a machine.”
Her dream, Rangel said, is that MOCA Tucson will be a people’s museum, somewhere people will come to talk, to think, to drink coffee. She hopes they will come out and see exhibitions that continue in the tradition of recent shows such as “Raven Chacon: While hissing,” an artist she said is one of the most important artists working with sound.
The museum has committed to work that is inclusive and thought-provoking, to programs that center intergenerational, LGBTQ+ and youth communities.
“I am excited to join MOCA Tucson at a time when its work is both locally rooted and globally relevant,” said Rangel. “The museum’s artist-founded, community-responsive spirit and its commitment to borderlands culture make it a vital site for experimentation, difference, and exchange. I’m honored to collaborate with the team, artists, and audiences to imagine the next chapter together.”
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 4, 2025.