MAIA CHAO is an interdisciplinary artist whose work—often playful and absurd—examines informal and formal institutions, such as family, schools, museums, language, economic systems and legal systems. Working collaboratively in performance, video, sculpture, and social practice, she draws on methods from anthropology, linguistics, and psychology.
Chao has shown at The Shed, Tufts University Art Galleries, Brown University Granoff Center for the Arts, RISD Museum, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery at Parsons, and Cuchifritos Gallery. Recent fellowships include: Fine Arts Work Center, Andrew W. Mellon Residency at Haverford College, Asian American Arts Alliance of NYC, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pioneer Works, and Queer|Art. She has given talks and workshops at ICA Philadelphia, Cue Art Foundation, Open Engagement, National Art Education Convention, and Museum as Site for Social Action. Her work has been discussed in BOMB Magazine, The Paris Review, and Hyperallergic.
She is co-creator of Look at Art. Get Paid and a current member of the art collective, Vox Populi. A Fulbright grantee, Chao holds a BA in Anthropology from Brown University and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
maiachaos@gmail.com / @maia.pologies