Hans Ulrich Obrist

Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries and influential curator, archivist, and collaborator.

Mentions

Appeared in

Discussed in

Key positions and views

The art world is no longer defined by a single geographic center but has evolved into a global 'polyphony of centers' [19].

Artists should be embedded within non-art organizations, such as corporations and government bodies, to act as catalysts for new ideas and perspectives, a concept pioneered by the Artist Placement Group [14].

Museums must actively combat passive viewing and short attention spans by creating interdisciplinary, immersive experiences that encourage deeper and longer engagement with art [10, 15].

There is a pressing need for a new, interdisciplinary arts school, akin to the historical Black Mountain College, to foster the next generation of creative talent [3, 7].

Digital platforms, particularly video games, have transitioned from a niche interest to a 'lead medium' and represent a critical frontier for artistic creation and audience outreach [16, 23].

Podcast consensus on Obrist

Points of consensus

▶Hans Ulrich Obrist is a central figure in high-profile, interdisciplinary collaborations, working with entities ranging from the Holy See and Laurene Powell Jobs to the K-pop group BTS and the gaming platform Fortnite [1, 3, 12, 16].Apr 2026

▶He has been instrumental in steering the Serpentine Galleries towards new frontiers by establishing dedicated departments for ecology and technology and strategically evolving the focus of its flagship Pavilion program [8, 9, 11, 20].Apr 2026

▶Obrist is a prolific archivist and publisher, having personally recorded approximately 4,500 hours of conversations with artists and consistently publishing around seven books per year based on this work [2, 5].Apr 2026

▶He actively seeks to expand art's audience and influence by integrating it with mainstream digital platforms, successfully using collaborations with Fortnite and K-pop to attract new and younger demographics to the physical gallery space [12, 16, 23].Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶Obrist contrasts the historical model of a singular art world 'center,' like Paris or New York, with the contemporary reality of a decentralized, global 'polyphony of centers' [19].Apr 2026

▶He juxtaposes the typical, passive museum experience, where visitors spend mere seconds with an artwork, against his curatorial efforts to create immersive, multi-sensory environments that encourage prolonged engagement [10, 15].Apr 2026

▶A tension is highlighted between the Serpentine Pavilion's initial focus on established architectural icons and the strategic shift he implemented around 2012 to provide a platform for younger, emerging architects [11, 22].Apr 2026

▶He notes a reversal of the typical museum-going dynamic, where parents bring children, with the Fortnite collaboration, which resulted in teenagers bringing their parents to the Serpentine gallery [16].Apr 2026

Key themes

▶Institutional Innovation and EvolutionApr 2026

Obrist is deeply engaged in reshaping the modern art institution from within. He details the creation of new departments at the Serpentine for ecology and technology, the strategic evolution of the Pavilion program to feature emerging talent, and his collaboration to develop a new type of interdisciplinary art school [3, 7, 9, 11, 20].

This focus on institutional agility suggests that cultural organizations must proactively integrate contemporary societal concerns like technology and ecology into their core programming to maintain relevance and attract new audiences.

▶The Intersection of Art and TechnologyApr 2026

Obrist champions the deep integration of technology into the art world, moving beyond superficial website engagement to core programming. This is evidenced by collaborations with the gaming platform Fortnite, AI artist Refik Anadol (who uses Google and NVIDIA technology), and making the Serpentine's 'Future Art Ecosystem' reports freely available [9, 13, 16, 21].

The art world's increasing reliance on partnerships with major tech companies (Google, NVIDIA, Epic Games) signals a new ecosystem for creating, distributing, and monetizing art, creating opportunities for investors in both sectors.

▶Redefining Audience EngagementApr 2026

Obrist actively counters the trend of short visitor attention spans by creating more immersive and participatory experiences. He cites transforming a Peter Doig exhibition into a 'listening space' to encourage longer stays and leveraging Fortnite to drive significant, and demographically novel, physical traffic to the gallery [10, 15, 16].

This strategy reflects a broader shift in the experience economy, where the value of cultural assets is increasingly tied to the unique, multi-sensory, and shareable events built around them, rather than just the objects themselves.

▶The Artist as Collaborator and ArchivistApr 2026

Obrist's own practice is defined by collaboration and documentation. His work involves partnerships across diverse fields—from Laurene Powell Jobs on education to the Holy See on a Biennale pavilion—while his personal project is a massive 4,500-hour audio archive of conversations with artists, which forms the basis for his prolific publishing [1, 2, 3, 5].

This networked approach to curation and creation challenges traditional, solitary models of artistic genius, suggesting that future cultural and commercial value will be increasingly generated through interdisciplinary partnerships and the synthesis of diverse knowledge.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Not enough data for timeline

Changes over time

c. 1991

Initiates the 'Do It' project, where artists provide instructions for others to create artworks, a project that has continued for over three decades [24].

2000

The Serpentine Pavilion program is launched, initially inviting established international architects like Zaha Hadid who have not yet built in the UK [22].

c. 2006

After joining the Serpentine Galleries, Obrist helps establish a new department focused on ecology [20].

c. 2006-2007

Starts the 'Brutally Early Club,' a series of improvised 6:30 AM coffee meetings in London [6].

c. 2012

The Serpentine Pavilion program's strategy shifts to also feature younger, emerging architects alongside established names [11].

c. 2012-2013

The Serpentine Galleries begin a concerted effort to make technology a central part of the museum's work, leading to the hiring of five dedicated curators [8, 9].

Present

Is actively collaborating with Laurene Powell Jobs on plans for a new art school and with the Holy See on its pavilion for the Venice Biennale [1, 3].

Suggested prompts

How does Obrist's strategy of integrating art with mass-market digital platforms like Fortnite and K-pop impact the perceived value and accessibility of contemporary art? &nearr;What are the long-term implications for art institutions of adopting Obrist's model of dedicated departments for non-traditional fields like ecology and technology? &nearr;To what extent does Obrist's advocacy for an 'artist in residence' in corporations and government offer a viable model for fostering innovation outside the art world? &nearr;How does Obrist's personal archival project of 4,500 hours of conversations shape his curatorial practice and influence the historical record of contemporary art? &nearr;

Key concepts

Serpentine Galleries 10 ep Art & Technology 7 ep Collaborations 5 ep Audience Engagement 4 ep New Institutional Models 3 ep Archiving & Publishing 2 ep Serpentine Pavilion 2 ep Ecology in Art 1 ep Global Art World 1 ep

Notable quotes

“for the Kors exhibition we partnered up with Fortnite and that partnership meant that all of a sudden Serpentine was on the landing page of Fortnite and we had in two weeks 150 million visitors on that space”

Hans Ulrich Obrist · Hans Ulrich Obrist: What business can learn from the art world | Podcast | In Good Company

“lorraine power jobs um basically saved this um uh this building the san francisco art institute... and ask Abby Churchill and me to work with her to gather ideas how such a school could be.”

Hans Ulrich Obrist · Hans Ulrich Obrist: What business can learn from the art world | Podcast | In Good Company

“I could sort of record and I mean today I've, it's, the archive is about 4,500 hours.”

Hans Ulrich Obrist · Hans Ulrich Obrist: What business can learn from the art world | Podcast | In Good Company

“all of a sudden you know teenagers brought their parents to the Serpentine which in a way otherwise would be the other way around.”

Hans Ulrich Obrist · Hans Ulrich Obrist: What business can learn from the art world | Podcast | In Good Company

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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