• MARCO is the first museum in Mexico to introduce a title sponsor curator-at-large, a position common in the US and some countries in Europe.
• With a career spanning more than two decades, Hernández Chong Cuy joins the museum to develop a curatorial vision for its permanent collection.
• Hernández Chong Cuy is a Mexican-born curator and art critic with experience leading institutions specialized in contemporary art.
• The Monterrey philanthropist Yolanda Santos de Hoyos sponsors this new curatorial position at MARCO 

On August 25, 2026, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO), in Monterrey, Mexico, announced that Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy has been appointed as the Yolanda Santos de Hoyos Curator-at-Large, a position created to especially focus on the museum’s collection.

This new position at MARCO is sponsored by Yolanda Santos de Hoyos, a philanthropist and art collector with extensive experience in contemporary art. Ms. Santos de Hoyos also joined MARCO’s Board of Directors when the museum was founded. Although she is no longer a member of the Board, Santos de Hoyos was closely involved in creating the Curator-at-Large position, engaging in active dialogue with the current Board of Directors, chaired by Alfonso Barragán, and with the museum’s director general, Taiyana Pimentel Paradoa.

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The photo shows, from left to right: Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, MARCO’s newly appointed Curator-at-Large; Yolanda Santos de Hoyos, sponsor of MARCO’s Curator-at-Large position; and Taiyana Pimentel Paradoa, MARCO’s executive director.

The curatorial profile was conceived in collaboration with specialists in the art field, locally and internationally. The role was established to develop a curatorial framework for understanding contemporary art in and from northern Mexico, considering the region’s cultural complexity, cross-border dialogues, and transnational connections to artistic production.

Sponsor-titled curatorial-at-large positions exist in museums internationally. This is the first time such a position has ever been established for MARCO or for any museum in Mexico.

Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy (Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico; 1975) is a contemporary art curator who recently served as director of Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, formerly known as the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art. She was also curator of contemporary art at the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (United States and Venezuela), and director of the Museo Rufino Tamayo de Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City. She holds a BA in visual arts from the University of Monterrey and a graduate degree from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in New York.

Along with Diana Jiménez, Minoru Kiyota, and Mayté Miranda, Hernández Chong Cuy is a member of the Mexicali-based collective 100 Grados de Arte, which organized this year the first Art Week in the capital of Baja California.

“This is a unique opportunity to collaborate with an exemplary institution and a museum leader with a strong artistic vision, who are making positive change in the art field,” said Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, referring to Pimentel Paradoa’s work at MARCO.

Yolanda Santos de Hoyos, who funds the Curator-at-Large position, is a Monterrey-based cultural philanthropist with extensive experience in education and public health initiatives benefiting women and vulnerable communities, primarily through her work with the nonprofit organization called Supera. Santos de Hoyos also founded and, to date, supports the Ballet de Monterrey, where she serves as honorary president. Santos de Hoyos was a member of MARCO’s inaugural Board of Directors. She is also a prominent collector of contemporary art.

“I would like to highlight the valuable contribution of Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, one of the world’s most renowned curators,” said Santos de Hoyos. “Her involvement with MARCO will not only enrich the museum’s cultural discourse, but also strengthen its international profile, creating new opportunities for its development and long-term sustainability.”

Pimentel notes that the establishment of this curatorial position is the result of two years of collaboration with Santos de Hoyos and the museum’s Board of Directors.

“Our plans include dedicating MARCO´s second-floor galleries to contemporary visual art from northern Mexico, with work drawn from the museum collection in dialogue with artworks on loan from various collections throughout the region. Our roadmap has several phases, an evolving exploration that engages our audiences, incorporates an educational dimension, and promotes debate,” Pimentel Paradoja revealed.

“This initiative is part of a series of critical strategies through which the museum partners with multiple stakeholders in Monterrey to foster critical engagement with the concept of northern Mexico.”

PROFILE OF SOFÍA HERNÁNDEZ CHONG CUY

YOLANDA SANTOS DE HOYOS CURATOR-AT-LARGE AT MARCO 

Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy is a contemporary art curator with a career spanning more than two decades. Her practice encompasses exhibition curation, the commissioning of artistic projects, art acquisitions, publishing, and philanthropic consulting. She recently founded Atresti.com, served as guest director of the ESAP program at the A&L Berg Foundation (United States), and curated an exhibition for the Pavilhão Julião Sarmento (Portugal). Previously, she served as director of Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam (the Netherlands), formerly known as the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art; curator of contemporary art at the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection (United States/Venezuela); and director of the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City. She studied at UDEM in Monterrey and CCS Bard in New York.