Shanghai-based architecture and design curator Aric Chen has been named the new general and artistic director of Rotterdam's Het Nieuwe Instituut.
Chen will take up the position at Het Nieuwe Instituut (HNI), an institute and museum for architecture, design and digital culture, from 1 May.
In taking up the role, Chen, who is currently curatorial director of the Design Miami fairs, plans to expand on the institute's tradition of research and critical inquiry.
Above and top image: Aric Chen will take up his new role in May
"I've been really impressed by HNI's deeply embedded impulse to expand definitions, not just for its core disciplines ? architecture, design, digital culture ? but also for what an institute can be," he told Dezeen. "I have every hope of pushing this further by sharpening and expanding on its research and critical inquiry into not only the pressing questions confronting us in the present and future, but also those relating to how we see the past," Chen added.
"What's more, it's not just about how we think about these things, but how we act on them. For me, it will be about thinking and doing."
Chen to join board of directors
Chen succeeds Guus Beumer, Het Nieuwe Instituut's current general and artistic director, who is retiring. He will join managing director Josien Paulides on the organisation's board of directors.
"We highly value the extensive knowledge, experience and international reputation of Aric Chen in the field...