LONG BEACH - An art expert who has worked with both Latin American art and a family foundation has come to Long Beach to do more of the same. Cecilia Fajardo-Hill has been named to a newly created position called vice president of curatorial affairs and chief curator at the Museum of Latin American Art.

In Miami, Fajardo-Hill was director and chief curator of the Cisneros Fontanals Arts Foundation, founded by Venezuelan-born philanthropist Ella Fontanals Cisneros and her family, and also the Ella Fontanals Cisneros Collection of Contemporary American Art. Here, she will be involved with the museum, foundation and family of the late Robert Gumbiner.

Before working in Miami, Fajardo-Hill was a gallery director in Caracas, Venezuela. She studied art history at the University of Essex and the Courtauld Institute of Art in England.

The museum's announcement said Fajardo-Hill will be the head of the curatorial team and in charge of the museum's collections and exhibition program, including building the collection, displaying art, research, cataloging and care. In a statement, Fajardo-Hill said, "I believe it is time to dispel the stereotypes that have been associated with Latin American art and culture and reinforce its role within the global community."

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