Alberto Ortega Trejo

Alberto Ortega Trejo is a Lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), teaching in the Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects department. He also manages public programs at the Katz Center for Mexican Studies at the University of Chicago and works as an independent spatial designer. His research explores indigeneity in architectural modernity, colonial spatial politics in North America, and the architectures of social experiments, employing methods such as drawing, sculpture, and video.

He has curated exhibitions like The Last of Animal Builders at Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House and contributed to institutions including MoMA, the Society of Architectural Historians, and the American Institute of Architects. Awards include the IDEAS Fellowship and grants from the Mellon Foundation and Jumex Foundation.

His publications span art and architectural criticism, including Lector Primitivo (2024) and articles on modernist design theories. Grants and fellowships fund his interdisciplinary work bridging art, architecture, and colonial history. He actively engages in public discourse through lectures and exhibitions, focusing on decolonizing spatial practices.