Abby Chen

Change Agent, Connector

Abby Chen is the Head of Contemporary Art and Senior Associate Curator at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. She started in 2019 to lead the museum’s groundbreaking Transformation project. Her curatorial debut includes commissioning Asian American artists such as Chanel Miller and Jenifer K. Wofford. She also helped acquire the largest collection of Bernice Bing, along with works by Carlos Villa, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Lam Tung Pang, and many others. As part of the transformation, she established a new initiative Practice Institute, the collaborative model to change museum practices for the evolving artist community. Her latest immersive exhibition Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk garnered the Asian Art Museum’s in highest public attendance per day post pandemic. Previously, she served for over a decade as the Curator and Artistic Director at the Chinese Culture Center and Foundation of San Francisco. Under her leadership, the Community-based organization was transformed into an internationally recognized open and process-driven platform for contemporary art.

Create a sense of belonging.

Museum should be a place to keep our collective soul.

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