Tate Modern appoints two curators specialising in Asia-Pacific art, supported through a new partnership with Asymmetry Art Foundation

Tate Modern was delighted to announce today that Alvin Li has been appointed to the role of Curator, International Art, supported by Asymmetry Art Foundation, and that Hera Chan has been appointed Adjunct Curator, Asia-Pacific, supported by Asymmetry Art Foundation.

Both of these roles ensure that vital expertise on art from the Asia-Pacific region is embedded in Tate Modern’s curatorial team, devising and delivering ambitious exhibitions, displays and initiatives in the gallery. They will also research new strategic acquisitions of modern and contemporary art for Tate’s collection, and forge new relationships with artists, cultural producers, scholars and curators based in the region.

These posts are supported through a new partnership between Tate and Asymmetry Art Foundation. Asymmetry is a London-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to nurturing the next generation of curators and to developing curatorial practice and expertise in Asia and beyond. By working in partnership with key art institutions – including The Courtauld Institute of Art, Goldsmiths University of London, Chisenhale Gallery and Delfina Foundation – Asymmetry supports a wide range of curatorial placements and scholarship programmes.

Karin Hindsbo, Director of Tate Modern, said “Tate is dedicated to rethinking modern and contemporary art from multiple geographies and perspectives. In recent years we have made great progress in the way we represent groundbreaking art from the Asia-Pacific region, and these two curatorial appointments will allow us to take that progress much further. I’m very grateful to Asymmetry Art Foundation for their support of this important work here at Tate and across the UK visual arts sector, and I look forward to all that we will achieve thanks to their generosity.”

Yan Du and Michèle Ruo Yi Landolt, Directors at Asymmetry Art Foundation, said “As a young organisation with an ambitious vision in supporting curatorship and cultural agents in the arts ecosystem, it is important for us to also collaborate with different organisations, from independent commissioning art spaces to renowned universities and established collection-based institutions. Our varied approach in building partnerships have resulted in numerous initiatives, while giving presence to Sinophone artistic voices from Asia and its diaspora. We acknowledge the importance of contextualising curatorial knowledge about the distinctive regions of the Asia-Pacific in the global art world and we are excited to further shape the future of curatorial, art-historical, and institutional practices in a more inclusive and diverse landscape through this invaluable partnership with Tate.”

Hera Chan is a curator and writer based in Hong Kong. She was formerly Associate Curator of Public Programmes at Tai Kwun Contemporary and Director/Curator at Videotage, and has staged exhibitions and events in Asia, Europe and North America. She is currently an adjunct curator at Tate and a guest professor at the Korea National University of the Arts.

Alvin Jiahuan Li is a curator and writer based in London and has also been an adjunct curator at Tate since 2021. He previously worked as a contributing editor to frieze magazine and an artistic advisor to the 59th Venice Biennale. He has curated projects in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and London, and is a frequent contributor to art periodicals and monographs.

Tate has long been committed to telling an increasingly expansive and diverse art history through its collection and programme. Visitors to Tate Modern today will see many recent acquisitions from the Asia-Pacific region in the gallery’s free collection displays. These include rooms exploring the experimental Gutai Art Association in Japan in the 1950s and the radical performance practices in Beijing’s ‘East Village’ in the 1990s. There are also displays dedicated to Singaporean artist Ming Wong, Hong Kong born artist Tseng Kwong Chi, and the Korean-American collective Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries, reflecting the multiple artistic practices from this vast and culturally diverse region of the world.