About
Viahsta Yuan is a curator and designer who currently lives and works in Vancouver, Canada. Her interests lie in examining the current issues that impose critical influences on people's daily living.
In 1989, Jean-Hubert Martin curated the exhibition "Magiciens de la terre" for the Pompidou Art Center in France. He selected more than 100 artists from all over the world based on their geographical distribution. This exhibition became the first exhibition that included a large number of African, Asian and other non-Western artists. This sensational exhibition not only protested against the nationalism that existed in the Western art world but also questioned the classification mechanism of artworks in galleries and museums.
"Art is the most intuitive and infectious way of expression, through which it can question and provoke thoughts on all injustices and irrationalities. Through curatorial practices, I hope to challenge the boundary of the traditional notion of art and Western art history. "
Viahsta studied art history and business at the University of British Columbia and received her Master in Arts and Cultural Management from Université de Montréal. She has been practicing studio and gallery management, and curation since 2011. Her main subjects span from East Asian Art, Chinese Contemporary Art to Contemporary Painting and Digital Art. Projects she has participated in include "Nian Nian" by Ai Weiwei, "Modern Echo" featuring works by Amedeo Modigliani and Bernard Buffet. In 2021, she co-founded the CICA Vancouver Centre of International Contemporary Art aiming to bring diverse international voices into the city. She currently sits on the selection panel of the Richmond Public Art Program.
