Aric Chen

Last updated
Aric Chen
Aric Chen (Q131555886).jpg
Chen speaking at an event in 2025
Born
Chicago, United States of America
Education University of California, Berkeley
Occupation(s)Architecture curator, writer
Employer(s) Het Nieuwe Instituut (2021-2024)
Zaha Hadid Foundation (2025-)

Aric Chen is an American architecture curator and writer. [1] In 2025, he was appointed director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation. [2]

Contents

Previously, he served a four-year tenure as the general and artistic director of Het Nieuwe Instituut in the Netherlands, the national museum and archive for architecture, design, and digital culture. [3]

Biography

Born in Chicago, United States, to Taiwanese parents, [4] Chen studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he pursued a bachelor's degree in architecture and a bachelor's degree in anthropology. He then continued his studies at the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, earning a master's degree in history of design. [5] [6]

Before transitioning to curating, he worked as a journalist. [4] In 2008, he relocated to China, [7] where he served as a professor and the founding director of the Curatorial Lab at the College of Design & Innovation at Tongji University in Shanghai. [8] In 2010, Chen was appointed the first Creative Director of the Beijing Design Week. [5]

From 2012 to 2019, Chen was the founding lead curator for design and architecture at Hong Kong's visual culture museum, M+. [9] There, he oversaw the establishment of the new museum's design and architecture collection and programme. [3]

In 2018, Chen became the first curatorial director of the Design Miami events in Florida and Basel, Switzerland. [10]

In 2021, he was appointed general and artistic director of Het Nieuwe Instituut, the Netherlands’ national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture, based in Rotterdam. [11] [12] Four years later, he served as an ambassador for the inaugural cycle of the Ammodo Architecture Awards. [13] [11]

In April 2025, he announced his resignation of his role at Het Nieuwe Instituut as he was appointed director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation. [2]

Chen has frequently contributed to publications such as The New York Times , Wallpaper*, and Architectural Record . [6] He has organized numerous projects and exhibitions internationally and has served on various juries. Additionally, he has been a curatorial adviser to events such as the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, the Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial, and the Gwangju Design Biennale. [14]

Exhibitions

Publications

References

  1. ↑ "Aric Chen appointed General and Artistic Director - Announcements - e-flux". e-flux. 2021-04-08. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  2. 1 2 "Weekly News Roundup: April 11, 2025". Art Asia Pacific. 2025-04-11. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
  3. 1 2 "Aric Chen". Urban Future. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  4. 1 2 Sansom, Anna (2019-07-11). "The first curatorial director of Design Miami/ talks to The Design Edit about the role of collectible design". The Design Edit. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  5. 1 2 "ARIC CHEN | 陳伯康". CHINESE NEW ART. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  6. 1 2 den Hartog, Harry (2021-04-26). "In conversation with Aric Chen in Shanghai". Archined. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  7. ↑ "PIN–UP | ARIC CHEN". PIN–UP | ARIC CHEN. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  8. ↑ Foster, Brenna. "Notes from Aric Chen, the general and artistic director of Het Nieuwe Instituut". Memberful Design. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  9. ↑ "Valuations: Nieuwe Instituut's Director Aric Chen on Leading the Dutch National Museum and Becoming the World's First 'Zoöp'". Artnet News. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  10. ↑ Gibson, Eleanor (2018-11-23). "Design Miami names Aric Chen as first curatorial director". Dezeen. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  11. 1 2 "Ambassadors". Ammodo Architecture Awards. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  12. ↑ Guimapang, Katherine (2021-04-09). "Curator and writer Aric Chen is Het Nieuwe Instituut's new General and Artistic Director". Archinect. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  13. ↑ Fakharany, Nour (2024-11-19). "Ammodo Architecture Announces Inaugural Global Awards Recipients for Social and Ecological Innovation". ArchDaily. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  14. ↑ "Aric Chen". Savannah College of Art and Design. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.