Tate Modern has continued to expand the reach of its curatorial team with the announcement of two new curators specializing in Asia-Pacific art. Alvin Li and Hera Chan will join as curator, international art and deputy curator, Asia-Pacific, respectively.
The appointments are supported as part of a partnership with the Asymmetry Art Foundation, a London-based non-profit organization focused on promoting the work of curators with experience in Asian art.
Both Chan and Li arrive with substantial and divergent sets of experience under their belts. Chan is currently a deputy curator at the Tate as well as a visiting professor at the Korea National University of the Arts, but has also held senior positions at the Hong Kong contemporary art space Tai Kwun Contemporary and the new media organization Videotage.
talking with The Journal of Art, Chan says, “My priorities include delving into the practices of historical artists who laid the foundation for today’s younger artists, and investigating artistic movements through the prism of multiple modernisms. Each work of art functions in a multiplicity of ways, even as a carrier of knowledge. They help us think about the world today, not just what it is but how it is.”
Li, also a deputy curator at Tate, comes with publishing credentials, having previously worked as a contributing editor for frieze magazine He was also artistic advisor to the 59th Venice Biennale. Among them, they have curated exhibitions in Asia, Europe and North America.
tell him The Journal of Art: “Working with Hera and with the support of the Asia Pacific Acquisition Committee, one of my main focuses will continue to be the research and acquisition of modern and contemporary art for our collection from the Asia Pacific region and its diasporas. This is so important to our ongoing rethinking of art histories, towards a truly diverse and transnational art museum. Another priority is this year’s Hyundai Commission, which I am honored to be co-curating. I encourage everyone to come to London this autumn for what will be a very exciting commission for the Turbine Hall.”
The news is the latest example of Tate Modern looking to increase its curatorial reach. In September, the organization announced that it had hired two curators, Kimberley Moulton and Marleen Boschen, with specialties in Indigenous art and ecology.
