We bring thinkers, artists, and builders to the same table.

Each year we pursue one question about how technology is reshaping what it means to be human.

Convene · Inquiry
Bring disciplines into conversation
Publish · Journal
Turn inquiry into knowledge
Back · Builders
Help human-centered technology take shape

A letter from the founder

رسالة من المؤسسRead the founder’s letter

The Raised Hand

I was eight or nine when my mother and I happened upon an auction. It was the first time I had seen so many grown-ups sitting quietly together, waiting only for someone to raise a hand. So I raised mine.

Origins

البدايات

Two visitors in conversation in front of a painting at West Bund Art & Design, Shanghai — West Bund Art & Design · Shanghai, 2025

Where we come from

ARTIFACT began as an archival research initiative within VAC, a non-profit art foundation and collection established in New York by Chinese American collector Muchun Niu to support artistic practice, research, and knowledge production.

The research gradually moved beyond the archive. It became a Journal for bringing together voices and ideas across disciplines, and eventually grew into ARTIFACT Futures: a platform where research, publishing, convening, and support for emerging technologies come together around questions about our relationship with technology.

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Timeline

الخط الزمنيSee how we’ve grown

2023
From New York to Hanoi
- VAC begins in New York and opens in Hanoi
- Our first public programme, with the architect Trung Mai, in the Gia Lâm train factory
- ARTIFACT begins inside VAC, to record and publish the ideas around it
2024
A residency and a second city
- Our first resident’s open studio is featured on VOV national television
- VAC Shanghai opens with A Beginning
2025
The Journal launches
- Issue No. 1 at the Venice Architecture Biennale
- Issue No. 2 at West Bund Art & Design, Shanghai
- A curatorial research group from MoMA visits
2026
ARTIFACT Futures
- The Future Is Behind Us, our first annual Inquiry
- The London Forum at the British Library, during London Tech Week
- Then San Francisco, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi
2027
A house for builders
- We are looking for a city where founders, artists and scholars can live and work together for a season
- Our next annual Inquiry

Executive Profiles

الفريق التنفيذي

Muchun Niu
Founder & Chair
Sophie Huang
COO & Editor-in-Chief
Henry Yuan
Venture Partner

Team

الفريق

The people who make our programmes, publishing and production happen, every day.

Vi
Emma
Linh
Sam
Hong
Trang

Cities & institutions

المدن والمؤسسات

We work with cities and institutions to turn ambitions for the age of AI into programmes, partnerships, and projects, connecting them with builders, researchers, and ideas shaping what comes next.

Programme design
We develop programmes around questions that matter to a city or institution, from public forums and private conversations to research-led initiatives.
People & projects
We identify founders, researchers, artists, and emerging projects that can bring those questions into practice.
Global network
We connect local ambitions with an international network of Fellows, Builders, institutions, and collaborators across technology, science, culture, and research.
Stories & knowledge
We document and extend the work through publishing, editorial storytelling, and the Journal, giving ideas a life beyond the programme itself.

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