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Kieran Long

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Kieran Long
Born (1977-08-19) August 19, 1977 (age 47)
CitizenshipBritish, Swedish
EducationCardiff University (BA)
TitleJournalist, curator and museum director

Kieran Long (born 19 August 1977) is a British journalist, curator and museum director specializing in architecture and design. He is the director and CEO of Amos Rex,[1] a contemporary art museum in Helsinki, Finland. Previously, he served as director of ArkDes, Sweden’s national museum of architecture and design (2017–2024), and as the Keeper of Design, Architecture, and Digital at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2012–2017).

Long has worked as a journalist and critic, mostly in architecture and design, including as editor-in-chief of Architects’ Journal and The Architectural Review, and as an architecture critic for The Evening Standard. He has also presented BBC television programmes such as Restoration Home and The House That £100K Built. In addition to his curatorial and media work, he has lectured at institutions including the Royal College of Art and London Metropolitan University. His book Sigurd Lewerentz, Architect of Death and Life (2021) examines the work of the influential Swedish architect.

Early life and education

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Long was born on 19 August 1977. He studied English literature at Cardiff University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998. He is fluent in English and Swedish.

Career

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Journalism and publishing

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He began his career at Building Design, where he worked from 1998 to 2001. He then joined World Architecture Magazine (2001–2003) before serving as deputy editor of Icon Magazine (2003–2007). From 2007 to 2010, he was editor-in-chief of Architects’ Journal and The Architectural Review.[2] From January 2010 to June 2013, he worked as an architecture critic for the London Evening Standard.[3]

Television and media

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Long has worked as a television presenter for the BBC. He was a presenter on Restoration Home[4] (2009–2017) and The House That £100K Built (2009–2017) for the BBC, both of which focused on architecture and home renovation.

Museum leadership and curatorial work

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Long has held teaching positions at several institutions. From 2011 to 2012, he was a tutor in design products at the Royal College of Art. Prior to that, he was a tutor and head of public programmes at London Metropolitan University from 2001 to 2011. He has also taught at Kingston University, the University of Greenwich, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

In 2023, Long served as a commissioner representing Sweden in the Nordic Pavilion’s contribution to the Venice Biennale of Architecture, alongside representatives from Norway and Finland.[5] From December 2011 to September 2012, he was assistant director of the 2012 Venice Biennale of Architecture under artistic director David Chipperfield. He led the curatorial team in delivering 73 exhibitions and installations, as well as four publications.

From September 2012 to April 2017, Long was Keeper of the Design, Architecture and Digital Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. [6]

Long served as Director of ArkDes, the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, from 2017 to 2024.[7][8] Based in Stockholm, ArkDes is the national museum of architecture and design, a state authority, and a research institution focused on design, the built environment, and the role of architecture in society. Under Long's leadership at ArkDes, the institution participated in the 16th International Architecture Exhibition in 2018, presenting aspects of Sigurd Lewerentz's work.[9]

In 2024, he was appointed director and CEO of Amos Rex in Helsinki.[10]

Board memberships and advisory roles

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Long has served as a board member and non-executive director of the V&A Dundee since 2022 and is also on the advisory board of the New Museum of Architecture and Design in Helsinki.[11]

Previously, he was an advisory board member to the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.

Teaching and public speaking events

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Long has held teaching positions at the Royal College of Art in London, Kingston University, Greenwich University, London Metropolitan University, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. He has also lectured widely at universities and institutions around the world, including Yale University, Columbia University, the University of California, Berkeley, Technische Universität Berlin, the Free University of Berlin, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Helsinki, Aalto University, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA).

In addition, he has given public talks at major cultural events and venues such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial,[12] Paris Photo, and M+ and the Museum Summit 2023, both in Hong Kong. Recent lectures have included presentations on the work of Sigurd Lewerentz at Yale, Columbia, and the CCA.

Writing and publications

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Long has written extensively about architecture and design. His book Sigurd Lewerentz, Architect of Death and Life (2021)[13] explores the career and legacy of Swedish architect Sigurd Lewerentz. The book takes its starting point from the ArkDes collection and the results of the authors Johan Örn and Mikael Andersson's many years of research.[14]

Other publications include:

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New London Interiors (2004)[15]

Hatch: The New Architectural Generation (2008)[16]

Is This What You Mean By Localism? (2012)[17]

95 Theses for Museum Curation (Dezeen, 2012)[18]

Common Ground: A Critical Reader (2012, co-edited with David Chipperfield and Shumi Bose)[19]

There is Simply Too Much To Think About: Searching for Something Like a Culture in Ryan Gander’s Fieldwork in Fieldwork: An Incomplete Reader, Ryan Gander (2015)[20]

The Future Starts Here, V&A Publishing (2018)[21]

Selected exhibitions curated

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All of this Belongs to You, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2015[22]

The Future Starts Here, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2018[23]

Public Luxury, ArkDes, 2018[24]

Sigurd Lewerentz, Architect of Death and Life, ArkDes, 2021–22[25]

Awards and recognitions

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Long was named IBP Architecture critic of the year in 2004.[26] In 2021, Long was named as a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst[permanent dead link][27]

Personal life

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Long is married to Sofia Lagerkvist, a designer and member of the Swedish design group Front. They have one son.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "About Amos Rex". Amos Rex. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  2. ^ Montgomery, Agnus (8 November 2012). "Kieran Long appointed design and architecture curator at the V&A". Design Week. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  3. ^ A home to DIY for – London Life – Life & Style – London Evening Standard
  4. ^ BBC Two – Restoration Home – Kieran Long
  5. ^ https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2023/nordic-countries-sweden-norway-finland
  6. ^ "Kieran Long appointed senior curator of architecture, design and digital at V&A". Dezeen. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  7. ^ Bresciani, Claudio (10 February 2017). "Kieran Long blir ny chef för Arkdes". Dagens Nyheter.
  8. ^ "Press release från the Ministry of Culture in Sweden". Government of Sweden. 10 February 2017.
  9. ^ https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2018/partecipants/kieran-long-johan-%C3%B6rn-james-taylor-foster-arkdes-petra-gipp-mikael-olsson
  10. ^ "Press". Amos Rex. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Advisory Group for the New Museum of Architecture & Design". www.admuseo.fi. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Architectural Record February 2020: A Cultural Institution Analyzes Its Goals". digital.bnpmedia.comhttps. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Sigurd Lewerentz: Architect of Death and Life - bookm-ark.fi". Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  14. ^ Lewerentz, Sigurd; Long, Kieran; Örn, Johan; Andersson, Mikael; Peterson, Anna; Arkitektur- och designcentrum (2021). Sigurd Lewerentz: architect of death and life. ISBN 978-3-03860-232-3. OCLC 1227917878.
  15. ^ Long, Kieran (2004). New London interiors. Internet Archive. London : Merrell. ISBN 978-1-85894-237-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  16. ^ Long, Kieran (2008). Hatch : the new architectural generation. Internet Archive. London : Laurence King. ISBN 978-1-85669-562-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  17. ^ "Is this what you mean by Localism?". objectif. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Opinion: Kieran Long on 95 Theses for contemporary museum curation". Dezeen. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Common Ground: a critical reader". davidchipperfield.com. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Fieldwork, The Complete Reader - 30,00€ -". Actar Publishers. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  21. ^ "The Future Starts Here: Exhibition Book | V&A Books | V&A Shop". www.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  22. ^ Volsing, Kristian (21 May 2015). "City as Host: Liza Fior and Kieran Long • V&A Blog". V&A Blog. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  23. ^ "The Future Starts Here - Exhibition · V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Public Luxury: Architecture, Design and the Struggle for the Commons". ArkDes. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Sigurd Lewerentz: Architect of Death and Life". ArkDes. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  26. ^ "BBC Two - Restoration Home - Kieran Long". BBC. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  27. ^ "The Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst List". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  28. ^ Kieran Long (10 April 2014). ""There is without doubt institutional prejudice in the furniture industry"". Dezeen. Retrieved 21 June 2023.


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