Dear Colleagues,

Back in March, I announced the appointment of Xiaoyu Weng as the AGO’s Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art. After navigating the twists and turns of the pandemic as well as US/Canada border restrictions, I am delighted to say that Xiaoyu has finally arrived in Toronto. She starts in her new role today. 

Xiaoyu was born and raised in Shanghai, and holds an MA from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and a BA from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Her curatorial practice has focused on the impact of identity, globalization and decolonialization, as well as the intersection of art and technology. She comes to the AGO from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, where she was an integral part of the curatorial team for more than five years.

During her time at the Guggenheim, Xiaoyu spearheaded The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative. In 2018-19, she served as the Curator of the 5th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, transforming a former military factory and an abandoned theater into dynamic contemporary art spaces. She also recently curated the shows Miriam Cahn and Claudia Martínez Garay: Ten Thousand Things at Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing, China; Neither Black / Red / Yellow Nor Woman at Times Art Center Berlin, Germany; Soft Crash at Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy.

Before joining the Guggenheim, Xiaoyu was Director of Asia Programs at the Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco and Paris, where she organized a number of exhibitions and programs. In addition to her curatorial work, she is an active writer, editor and educator, writing extensively on contemporary art for various magazines and periodicals. 

In her new position at the AGO, Xiaoyu will lead the Modern & Contemporary team in creating exceptional art experiences to welcome and grow diverse local and global audiences and envision new ways to develop the AGO’s holdings of Modern & Contemporary Art.

Xiaoyu reports to me and will receive administrative and planning support from Debbie Johnsen, Curatorial Coordinator, Modern & Contemporary Art.

Please join me in welcoming Xiaoyu !

Thank you,

Julian

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Julian Cox

Deputy Director & Chief Curator