Aaron Levy

Levy works with artists, communities, and institutions worldwide to develop cultural projects that encourage inclusiveness, advocacy, and the sharing of knowledge. He is committed to reflecting on the responsibilities of cultural institutions, and developing the institution itself as a performative work.

He has curated exhibitions such as "Into the Open," the US representation at the Venice Biennale for Architecture; the "Perpetual Peace Project" at the International Peace Institute at the United Nations; "Mixplace Studio" with People's Emergency Center; and hundreds of other projects with individuals such as Werner Herzog, Agnès Varda, Ai Weiwei, Cecil Balmond, and Antanas Mockus.

He is also a Senior Lecturer in the Departments of English and the History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania, and received his PhD from the School of Fine Art, History of Art, and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds, with a focus on the cultural, political and economic history of the Venice Biennale. His scholarly work explores the cultural politics of memory and display, and histories and practices of public culture. He also studies the impact of social systems and structures on the health of individuals and communities, with an emphasis on how artists negotiate -- psychologically and aesthetically -- inequality and the uneven consequences of globalization.

He has edited over 20 books, films, and multimedia publications, including Cities Without Citizens (2002); Helene Cixous' Ex-cities (2007); Evasions of Power (2011); On the Living History of the Venice Architecture Biennale (2010); John Cage's How to Get Started (2010); and Utterly Precarious: Carolee Schneemann (2013).

He has served on the Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions, was a United States Cultural Envoy to Pakistan, and is on the board of directors of AICA-USA, the International Art Critics Association.