Xiaowen Zhu (b. Shanghai) is a Manchester- and Berlin-based institutional leader, curator, artist, and author. Named by Apollo magazine as one of its 40 Under 40 Asia Pacific Thinkers, she is recognised for her contributions to contemporary art and cultural exchange. Since taking the helm of esea contemporary in 2022, Zhu has led a significant period of institutional transformation, reimagining the organisation as a platform for artistic experimentation, critical inquiry and new forms of cultural knowledge, while expanding its international reach and extending its presence in the international contemporary art landscape. She is a member of the British Council’s Arts and Creative Economy Advisory Group.

Zhu has worked internationally in Shanghai, New York, Los Angeles, London, and Berlin as a director, author, and lecturer. She previously served as Assistant Director at Times Art Center Berlin, the first overseas parallel institution established by the Guangdong Times Museum. Her curatorial practice is informed by an understanding of art as a form of knowledge production, attending to how artistic practices challenge inherited narratives, complicate cultural categories and articulate alternative ways of understanding the contemporary world. Her work also explores how art engages with place, history and cultural exchange, opening up new perspectives on the relationships between local contexts and global imaginaries.

Zhu is the author of the artist book Oriental Silk (Hatje Cantz, 2020) and the short story collection Encounters (Shanghai Educational Publishing House, 2022). Her writing, interviews, and reviews have appeared in Art Review, e-flux, Kaleidoscope, Asian Review of Books, Crown Magazine, Arts of the Working Class, It’s Nice That, and elsewhere. She has delivered lectures and talks at institutions including the London School of Economics and Political Science, Goldsmiths, University of London, Heidelberg University, Lund University, University of Westminster, Rhode Island School of Design, New York University, Syracuse University, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Kyoto City University of the Arts, and Kyushu University.

Photograph by Kazuki Yoshimoto, courtesy of Kyoto University of Arts