{{Short description|American curator}} {{Infobox person | name = Aric Chen | image = Chen at a VIP dinner in Brussels, March 2026.jpg | caption = Chen in 2026 | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | occupation = Architecture curator, writer | years_active = | employer = Het Nieuwe Instituut (2021-2024)<br>Zaha Hadid Foundation (2025-) | education = University of California, Berkeley (BA, BArch)<br />Parsons School of Design (MA) | known_for = | notable_works = }} '''Aric Chen''' is an American architecture curator and writer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-08 |title=Aric Chen appointed General and Artistic Director - Announcements - e-flux |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/387093/aric-chen-appointed-general-and-artistic-director/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=e-flux |language=en}}</ref> In 2025, he was appointed director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-11 |title=Weekly News Roundup: April 11, 2025 |url=https://artasiapacific.com/news/weekly-news-roundup-april-11-2025 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Art Asia Pacific}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Aric Chen |url=https://urban-future.org/speaker/aric-chen/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Urban Future |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Biography==
Born in Chicago, United States, to Taiwanese parents,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Sansom |first=Anna |date=2019-07-11 |title=The first curatorial director of Design Miami/ talks to The Design Edit about the role of collectible design. |url=https://thedesignedit.com/market/aric-chen/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=The Design Edit |language=en-GB}}</ref> 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 Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the Parsons School of Design, where he earned a master's degree in history of design.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=ARIC CHEN {{!}} 陳伯康 |url=https://www.chinesenewart.com/chinese-artists16/aricchen.htm |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=CHINESE NEW ART}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=den Hartog |first=Harry |date=2021-04-26 |title=In conversation with Aric Chen in Shanghai |url=https://www.archined.nl/2021/04/in-conversation-with-aric-chen-in-shanghai/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Archined |language=}}</ref>
Before transitioning to curating, he worked as a journalist.<ref name=":1" /> In 2008, he relocated to China,<ref>{{Cite web |title=PIN–UP {{!}} ARIC CHEN |url=https://www.pinupmagazine.org/articles/keywords-aric-chen |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=PIN–UP {{!}} ARIC CHEN |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foster |first=Brenna |title=Notes from Aric Chen, the general and artistic director of Het Nieuwe Instituut |url=https://www.memberful.design/articles/notes-from-aric-chen-the-general-and-artistic-director-of-het-nieuwe-instituut |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Memberful Design}}</ref> In 2010, Chen was appointed the first Creative Director of the Beijing Design Week.<ref name=":2" />
From 2012 to 2019, Chen was the founding lead curator for design and architecture at Hong Kong's visual culture museum, M+.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-03-14 |title=Valuations: Nieuwe Instituut's Director Aric Chen on Leading the Dutch National Museum and Becoming the World’s First ‘Zoöp’ |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/valuations-aric-chen-nieuwe-instituut-rotterdam-2269654 |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref> There, he oversaw the establishment of the new museum's design and architecture collection and programme.<ref name=":0" />
In 2018, Chen became the first curatorial director of the Design Miami events in Florida and Basel, Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Eleanor |date=2018-11-23 |title=Design Miami names Aric Chen as first curatorial director |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/23/design-miami-aric-chen-first-curatorial-director/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Dezeen |language=en}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Ambassadors |url=https://www.ammodo-architecture.org/ambassadors |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Ammodo Architecture Awards}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Guimapang |first=Katherine |date=2021-04-09 |title=Curator and writer Aric Chen is Het Nieuwe Instituut's new General and Artistic Director |url=https://archinect.com/news/article/150258826/curator-and-writer-aric-chen-is-het-nieuwe-instituut-s-new-general-and-artistic-director |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Archinect |language=en}}</ref> Four years later, he served as an ambassador for the inaugural cycle of the Ammodo Architecture Awards.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fakharany |first=Nour |date=2024-11-19 |title=Ammodo Architecture Announces Inaugural Global Awards Recipients for Social and Ecological Innovation |url=https://www.archdaily.com/1023692/ammodo-architecture-announces-inaugural-global-awards-recepients-social-and-ecological-innovation-in-architecture |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=ArchDaily |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4" />
In April 2025, he announced his resignation of his role at Het Nieuwe Instituut as he was appointed director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation.<ref name=":5" />
Chen has frequently contributed to publications such as ''The New York Times'', ''Wallpaper*,'' and ''Architectural Record''.<ref name=":3" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aric Chen |url=https://www.scad.edu/guests-and-gusto/aric-chen |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Savannah College of Art and Design |language=en}}</ref>
== Exhibitions ==
* 2021: ''X is Not a Small Country: Unravelling the Post-Global Era''. Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology, Lisbon * 2022-23: ''Urban Cosmologies.'' 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture * 2023: ''Arata Isozaki: In Formation.'' Power Station of Art, Shanghai
== Publications ==
* 2016: ''Brazil Modern.'' The Monacelli Press, United States
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Aric}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American curators Category:American writers of Taiwanese descent Category:American journalists Category:Educators from Chicago Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:Academic staff of Tongji University