Ann Shi (she/her) is an independent curator, art advisor, and USPAP-compliant art appraiser specializing in Chinese paintings. She is also an art archivist dedicated to elevating and documenting diaspora artists, with a particular focus on those recontextualizing contemporary Asia within historical narratives. Her curatorial practice is deeply rooted in Asian art and its philosophies, aiming to bridge indigenous and external perspectives in art history, exploring new dialogues around Asian identity in contemporary art. Her work is driven by a desire to reclaim agency for underrepresented voices, ensuring that their histories are told from a culturally and linguistically informed perspective, navigating within the Western institutional framework that has long shaped how Asian art is perceived and consumed, often reducing it to a narrow selection of artists deemed “global” enough for inclusion in exhibitions.
Born to an artist father who practices classical ink wash painting in the literati traditions and a musician and play actor mother, Ann was immersed in the arts from an early age. The interdisciplinary background informs her curatorial approach, which bridges traditional methodologies with contemporary critical discourses. Having trained in the methodologies of classical Chinese painting and navigated the contemporary art world as a curator, collaborator, and collector, she possesses an intimate understanding of the nuances in artistic traditions, language, and cultural semiotics that are often misinterpreted or overlooked in Western-centric curatorial practices. Her research-driven approach seeks to dismantle colonial biases and patriarchal structures in art history, particularly concerning Asian women artists marginalized by dominant institutional narratives.
Ann previously served as an associate curator at Rice University’s Chao Center for Asian Art and as an assistant curator at the Moody Center for the Arts. She continues to contribute as an advisory committee member for the Houston Asian American Archive and serves as independent curator roles at various organizations. Ann holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mathematics (MMath with Honours) from University of Oxford, and an MA in Art Business with a focus on Contemporary Asian Art from Sotheby's Institute of Art.
Ann lives and works in New York, Los Angeles, and Houston.
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Brie Ruais: Movement at the Edge of the Land | Rice University Moody Center for the Arts, TX
Assistant Curator 5 June 2021 - 28 August 2026In the summer of 2021, the Moody Center for the Arts presented Brie Ruais: Movement at the Edge of the Land , the first institutional solo exhibition of the Brooklyn-based... -
Ascend AAPI: Spring Fashion Show | Julia Ideson Library, Houston.
Fashion Show and Public Art project, featuring Tina Zulu, Chloe Dao, Anthony Pabillano, and Miss Chinatown Pageant. 20 May - 3 June 2023The fashion program is part of “Our Vibrant AAPI Community: Selections from the Houston Asian American Archive ,” (HAAA) which tells personal stories that reflect the deep and varied contributions... -
Ascend AAPI: Selections from Houston Asian American Archive | Julia Ideson Library, Houston, TX
Co-curated by Ann Shi and Christina Grubitz 19 January - 3 June 2023The lives of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Houston are woven intimately into the history of the larger metropolis. Asian Americans first settled in the Bayou City... -
Odili Donald Odita: Meeting Place / Painting with Changing Parts | Rice University Public Art
Assistant CuratorCombining aspects of Western abstract painting with elements of traditional African cultures, Odili Donald Odita’s compositions speak to the ways in which color, form, and scale can convey complex cultural... -
Portal of Healing: Crossing the Bridge Together
Solo show featuring Rachel Gonzales | Rice University, TX 15 January - 31 March 2021Created from the end of the tumultuous year of 2020 to an uncertain beginning of 2021, “Portal of Healing” is a site-specific custom piece in collaboration with the Houston Asian... -
States of Mind: Art and American Democracy | Rice University Moody Center for the Arts, TX
Assistant Curator 19 September - 19 December 2020Reflecting on some of the most pressing topics facing American democracy, States of Mind: Art and American Democracy was timed to coincide with the 2020 presidential election in order to... -
Faces in the Pandemic
Group show featuring Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Antonius Tin Bui, Hermit Yinxi and seven other artists | Rice University Chao Center for Asian Studies, TX 17 August - 15 November 20202020 is a year unlike any other. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the global racial strife sparked by the murder of George Floyd ruptured our sense of normalcy. “Faces in...
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