Sophia Cai

Sophia Cai 蔡晨昕 is a curator and writer based in Kamberri/Canberra, Australia. Sophia’s ongoing research interests include Asian art histories, the intersections between contemporary art and craft, and building communities of practice rooted in feminist and anti-racist work. Sophia is the current Artistic Director + CEO of Canberra Contemporary, while maintaining an independent writing and curatorial practice. 

From 2023 to 2024, Sophia was the Artistic Director of Bus Projects, one of Australia’s longest running artist-run organisations. She has worked as a Lecturer at the Victorian College of Arts, University of Melbourne and as a Teaching Associate at Monash Art Design & Architecture, Monash University from 2020 to 2023, teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate art theory, art history and curatorship courses. During this time, she also worked for a number of arts organisations in curatorial roles, including Centre for Contemporary Photography as Project Curator, NETS Victoria as Exhibitions and Administration Coordinator, and La Trobe Art Institute as a Guest Curator. 

Sophia completed her Masters in History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, specialising in contemporary Chinese art post 1979. Prior to this, she graduated from the Australian National University with a First-Class Undergraduate Honours degree in Art History and Curatorship, receiving the Janet Wilkie Art History Prize for her thesis on contemporary Chinese photography.