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Gonzalo E. Casals (born November 21, 1974) is an Argentine-American museum director and professor based in New York City. He is the former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and previously held the executive director position at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in New York. He was the Vice President of Programs and Community Engagement at Friends of the High Line, as well as the Deputy and Interim Director of El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem. He is a resident of Jackson Heights, Queens.

Early life and education

Casals was raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Casals studied design and architecture at the Universidad de Belgrano. In 2002, he immigrated to New York City, where he received a Masters of Art History and Museum Studies from the City College of New York City and a Masters in Urban Affairs and Neighborhood and Community Development from Hunter College.

Career

Casals has been part of the CreateNYC public engagement team and the New York City Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments, and Markers. While leading the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, Casals transformed the museum, that often focussed on white cis gay men and their art, into a more diverse space for the LGBTQ+ community. Casals focused on the works of art by LGBTQ artists, people of color, women, trans people, and those with intersecting identities. Casals has supported a number of major exhibitions: including the New York edition of the exhibition, "Art After Stonewall, 1969–1989"; a retrospective of the experimental filmmaker, Barbara Hammer; and a survey show on "queer abstraction." As Director, Casals rebranded the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, dropping the "gay and lesbian" titled that was part of the museum name prior. He broadened education programming and opened up the museum's archives and libraries to artists and researchers. He has held teaching positions at the City University of New York, Yale University and New York University.

References

1. "Mayor de Blasio Appoints Gonzalo Casals as Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs". The official website of the City of New York. March 11, 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
2. "A Veteran Leader in the New York LGBTQ Art Scene Has Been Appointed by the Mayor as the City's New Cultural Affairs Chief". artnet News. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
3. "Gonzalo Casals". Yale School of Drama.
4. Postmaster (2020-03-12). "Casals named new Culture CommissionerCasals nombrado nuevo comisionado de Cultura". Manhattan Times News. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
5. ^ Durón, Maximilíano (2020-03-11). "Gonzalo Casals, Director of Leslie-Lohman Museum, Named Next Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for New York City". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
6. "Gonzalo Casals of the Leslie-Lohman Museum to Become NYC's New Cultural Affairs Commissioner". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
7. Pogrebin, Robin (2020-03-11). "Activist Museum Director Named New York Cultural Affairs Commissioner". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-08.

• Directors of museums in the United States
• Argentine emigrants to the United States
• Living people
• People from Jackson Heights, Queens
• City College of New York alumni
• Hunter College alumni
• Commissioners in New York City
• 1974 births