X Zhu-Nowell Named Art Director of Rockbund Art Museum
The former Guggenheim curator steps in following the departure of Larys Frogier, who led the esteemed Shanghai art institution for over a decade.
X Zhu-Nowell. Photo: Farah Al Qasimi.
The Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) has announced X Zhu-Nowell as its new Artistic Director.
Zhu-Nowell has been a curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York since 2014. Their rotunda exhibition Wu Tsang: Anthem was named among the best exhibitions of 2021 by the New York Times.
'Since its establishment in 2010, RAM has not only been the beating heart of contemporary art in Shanghai, but also maintained a legacy of radical projects, always against a shifting backdrop of social and political climates, which the team and I are eager to preserve and continue,' Zhu-Nowell said in a statement.
'Together, we are ready to take on the ambitions and contradictions of our time through initiating new modes of research, exhibition making, and public engagement, which will expand how the museum amplifies the voices of artists with diverse creative perspectives,' they said.
Prior to their new role, Zhu-Nowell curated the exhibition RAM Highlights 2022: The Good Life at the museum from 29 September to 20 November 2022.
Zhu-Nowell's exhibition programme for 2023 focuses on women artists from the Asian diaspora. Commencing on 18 March, it features solo shows by WangShui (who stylises their name without a space), Evelyn Taocheng Wang, Tosh Basco, Diane Severin Nguyen, Tan Jing, and Shubigi Rao, each of whom has been commissioned to create new works.
'Through these projects, I hope to spark new understandings of terms commonly thrown around in art contexts, such as place, personhood, geography, nationality, and identity,' Zhu-Nowell said.
RAM recently promoted Liu Yingjiu from Deputy Director to Director of the museum following the departure of Larys Frogier.
Liu said he was looking forward to 'continuing our quest for a new, dynamic institution of contemporary art that actively engages with the myriad challenges in the art and society of our times'.
Frogier said he was confident that Liu, Zhu-Nowell, and the rest of the RAM team would 'continuously reinvent themselves for the benefit of the artists and the audiences, for the dissemination of research and creative projects where knowledge of the other and encounters between peoples are of particular importance.'
Frogier will remain a member of RAM's Advisory Committee while devoting time to his own artistic research and practice. —[O]
