Asia Art Archive (AAA) has appointed Özge Ersoy as its new executive director.
Ersoy will begin her duties as executive director in September, succeeding Christopher K Ho. Her appointment coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Asia Art Archive, which will see the launch of Archive for All: Growing with Communities this autumn, featuring a publication, programming and an exhibition.
Ersoy, who is currently the Mimi Brown & Alp Erçil senior curator at AAA, was selected for the role by its board of directors. With experience across a wide range of non-profit organisations, the Istanbul-born Ersoy has worked in foundations, art centres and on biennials around the world, including the Gwangju Biennale as research and programming associate in 2021, and the Venice Biennale in 2015 as assistant curator of the Pavilion of Türkiye.
Since 2017, Ersoy has been a part of AAA’s team, first as public programmes lead before becoming senior curator. During her time at AAA, she has led projects such as Countering Time (2024) and In Our Own Backyard (2025), two exhibitions at AAA’s public library following its renovation. The more recent explored creativity and ways of gathering in the context of the woman’s movement in South Asia from the 1980s through the personal archives of Sheba Chhachhi and Lala Rukh. The show last year delved into the impossibility of measuring time through the work of Merve Ünsal, Simon Leung, Gala Porras-Kim and Lee Weng Choy. These exhibitions mirrored a shift towards experimental forms of archives and exhibitions, as Ersoy’s curatorial approach focuses on finding new ways to think about art collecting and exhibition building, as well as publishing in the contemporary art world.
Asia Art Archive was founded in 2000 as a way to document and preserve a wide range of diverse histories of contemporary art in Asia. Since then, it has amassed over 140, 000 records over the years. AAA’s wide-ranging programming includes exhibitions, research, publications, residencies, educational opportunities and most recently a digitisation laboratory.
Claire Hsu, Co-founder of AAA and Chair of the Board of Directors shared a comment on the appointment: “We are delighted to welcome Özge Ersoy into her new role…Over the last eight years, Özge has continuously demonstrated her deep commitment to the vision of AAA, and to the field at large, in the numerous projects she has spearheaded with great care. It’s been a privilege to watch her grow into the position of Executive Director, and we are excited to see the organisation continue to evolve and be responsive to the needs of our community under her leadership.”
Özge Ersoy commented on her new role: “Asia Art Archive embodies generosity, collaboration, and a community-centred approach to art history. As I step into this new role, I am honoured and excited to build upon the visionary leadership of Claire Hsu and Christopher K Ho, alongside our Board of Directors, as well as the achievements of our team over the past twenty-five years. With our renovated library and new digitisation lab, we are more committed than ever to amplifying underrepresented voices, making archives accessible, and nurturing connections with artistic sensibility.”
