Renato Olmedo-González is a proud queer immigrant who is passionate about the arts and social change. Born and raised in Guadalajara, México, Renato came to the United States as an undocumented immigrant when he was 15 years old. As a student at the University of Utah, he began his professional career with two Utah-based cultural organizations, Artes de México en Utah and Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts, where he created community-based art projects throughout the state, in addition to curating more than a dozen visual art exhibitions exploring issues of race, gender, personal identity, and cultural citizenship.

 

Shortly after receiving his green card and earning dual bachelor’s degrees in art history and Latin American studies, Renato joined the Consulate of Mexico in Salt Lake City as Head of the Community Affairs Department. In this role, he implemented community-based programs designed to empower Latinx immigrant populations throughout Utah and western Wyoming. Renato returned to the arts and cultural field when he joined the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) as Manager of Annual Giving. At the UMFA, he led the Museum’s annual fund efforts, managed key relationships with a diverse portfolio of individual donors, and oversaw the UMFA Art Lovers, the Museum's signature society for individual annual giving. Currently, Renato serves as the Public Art Program Manager for the Salt Lake City Arts Council. In this role, Renato is lead curator for public art projects located throughout Salt Lake City and his responsibilities include managing and implementing all aspects of the City’s Percent-for-Art Program.

 

Renato’s work in the arts and cultural field has garnered support from regional and national arts organizations, including WESTAF’s Emerging Leaders of Color program and the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) National Leadership Institute. Outside of work, Renato enjoys collecting music on vinyl, watching reality tv shows, reading books by Spanish and Latin American authors, tequila & mezcal, and playing with Diego, his adopted six-year-old Papillon mix dog.