Aric Chen

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 Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the Parsons School of Design, where he earned 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]