Karen Wong

Karen Wong is the Deputy Director of the New Museum, a mid-size museum renowned for its entrepreneurial platforms and mission: new art and new ideas. She co-founded the initiatives IDEAS CITY (2010), a residency and conference exploring the future of cities with the belief that art and culture are essential to our metropolises, and NEW INC (2014), the first museum-led incubator for art, technology and design. Both initiatives are models for the intersection of cultural and civic engagement.

As managing director of Adjaye Associates from 2000-2006 she helped build the foundation for an international architectural practice. She supports emerging architects in her role as a board member of Plus Pool (a self-cleaning floating public pool proposed for the East River) and a retired board member of Storefront for Art and Architecture.

She sits on the boards of Rhizome, a platform for emergent artistic practices that engage technology; Apex for Youth, a mentoring and education program for under-served Asians; and National Sawdust, a nonprofit performance venue focused on new music. She graduated magna cum laude at Brown University with dual BA in Art History and Art Practice and is an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University GSAPP.

She lectures often on museum innovation and emergent culture. Recent talks include keynotes at museum conferences (Toronto, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Athens, Paris) and panels (SXSW, Frieze Art Fair, Kickstarter, Sotheby’s, A/D/O). She recently developed a design talk series for Google NYC.