Xinran Yuan is Senior Director of Visual Arts Programming and Engagement, and Managing Director of the Gregory Allicar Museum of Arts.

In this leadership role, Yuan will provide college-level strategic direction for CSU’s public-facing visual arts platforms, shaping an integrated vision across the art museum, galleries and public art initiatives, while partnering with academic units and campus and community stakeholders to strengthen the visibility, impact and national relevance of visual arts programming at CSU.

Reporting directly to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Yuan will oversee institutional strategy for the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, the Hatton Gallery and select public art initiatives, with responsibility for long-term vision, partnerships, audience development and high-impact strategic programming. Her work will focus on building sustainable arts ecosystems that connect higher education, emerging creative practices and contemporary cultural life through exhibitions, interdisciplinary initiatives, and large-scale convenings.

As a curator, producer, and cultural programs strategist, her research focuses on the intersection of art, emerging technologies, and planet-scale biodiversity. Previously, she produced and co-curated the 2024 edition of the iconic 7x7 program at Rhizome of the New Museum of Contemporary Art on the theme of Artificial Intelligence. At Meta Open Arts, she led ambitious commissions at Meta’s New York Farley building and Hudson Yards, including a 50-feet, 2-ton suspended sculpture by artist Timur Si-Qin. As the founding Head of Global Partnerships at HTC VIVE Arts, she helped to realize the first large-scale in-museum VR exhibitions at institutions including the Louvre, V&A, American Museum of Natural History, and the Venice Biennale’s main Arsenale exhibition. She has collaborated with artists including Cai Guo-Qiang, Dominique Gonzalez Foerster, Albert Oehlen, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Tomás Saraceno, Sofia Crespo, Rindon Johnson, Baseera Khan, among others.

She holds a BA in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.​ Her artworks have been exhibited internationally and are in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum Library.