Introduction & Keynote: Ken Lum

Ken Lum is a world-renowned conceptual artist, writer, and educator whose work has redefined how we think about monuments, memory, and public space. Born and raised in Vancouver, Lum is celebrated for his incisive, often subversive use of photography, text, and sculpture to explore themes of identity, urban life, language, and power.

His iconic public artworks, such as the towering East Van Cross in Vancouver and his media‑rich Pi installation in Vienna, comprised of mirrored panels in a prominent pedestrian passageway at Karlsplatz, have become landmarks that challenge traditional ideas of monumentality while engaging the communities they inhabit. A co-founder of the Monument Lab and Chair of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, Lum’s work has been exhibited in major biennales and institutions around the globe.

His public artworks and critical writing push beyond aesthetics, intervening in civic narratives, questioning who gets remembered, and challenging the politics of place-making in contemporary cities. At BUMP 2025, Lum joins the Urban Art Conference as keynote speaker to reflect on the role of monuments in a shifting cultural landscape, and the urgent, imaginative possibilities of public art today.