Eva Respini is an internationally renowned curator, arts leader, writer, and cultural innovator with deep connections in the visual arts. She has organized major exhibitions for museums and arts organizations in the United States, Canada, and Europe. She has lectured and written widely about contemporary art and serves as curatorial advisor to several projects, including the 2026 Toronto Biennial.

Born to an Italian father and Norwegian mother, Eva lived in five different countries by the time she was 18. Her peripatetic upbringing and extensive research travels have given her a unique worldview that she brings to her curatorial work. She works from Vancouver, Canada, and has active curatorial projects all over the world.

Eva has held curatorial positions at The Museum of Modern Art, ICA/Boston, and is currently Co-CEO and Curator at Large at the Vancouver Art Gallery, where she shapes and drives the artistic vision for the Gallery. In 2022, she served as curator and co-commissioner for the U.S. Pavilion’s critically acclaimed presentation of Simone Leigh at the 59th Biennale di Venezia.

Eva has organized critically acclaimed retrospectives of Cindy Sherman, Huma Bhabha, William Forsythe, Deana Lawson, Walid Raad and Firelei Báez. She has also curated major group shows on the topics of migration, internet culture, and the climate crisis. Her writing appears in museum publications and art journals, and she has lectured widely on contemporary art in universities throughout North America. 

Eva has been a visiting lecturer, critic, and speaker at a number of universities and taught a highly in-demand seminar on curatorial practice at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. Other universities where she has taught and lectured include School of Visual Arts, Columbia University; Yale University’s School of Art; and the School of Visual Arts, New York. She has published numerous books and catalogues and her writing appears in museum publications and periodicals.

She received a BA and MA in art history from Columbia University and was a 2014 Fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership.

Eva is currently based in Vancouver, Canada on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.