Aaron Levy

Levy works with artists, communities, and institutions to develop cultural projects that encourage inclusiveness, advocacy, and the sharing of knowledge about health and well-being. He is the Executive Director and Chief Curator of Slought Foundation, as well as Senior Lecturer in the Departments of History of Art and English at the University of Pennsylvania. At the School of Social Policy and Practice he is the Director of the Health Ecologies Lab and Co-Director of the Arts and Social Justice Initiative, and Strategic Advisor for Health and Humanities Initiatives at Penn Medicine.

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 a range of other projects with individuals such as Werner Herzog, Agnès Varda, Ai Weiwei, Cecil Balmond, and Antanas Mockus.

He 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.

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 twice 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.