The Metropolitan Museum of Art has hired Maria Castro as an associate curator in its modern and contemporary department, a role she will begin later this month. Castro joins from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she served as associate curator of painting and sculpture and co-organized exhibitions including a current permanent collection hang and a show centered on Henri Matisse's "Femme au chapeau" (1905). Her appointment comes as the Met prepares for the opening of the Oscar L. and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing in 2030, a major expansion that is driving departmental growth.
This hire matters because it signals the Met's strategic investment in curatorial expertise ahead of the Tang Wing's debut, which will significantly reshape the museum's modern and contemporary art presentation. Castro's specialization in Latin American modernism and transatlantic connections aligns with the museum's goal to diversify and contextualize its collection from 1890 to 1950. Her move from SFMOMA also reflects ongoing talent mobility among top U.S. museums as they compete for curators who can reimagine permanent collection displays for new architectural spaces.