Pi Li was born in 1974. Previously an independent curator of visual arts and has held the position of lecturer of Curatorial Studies in the Art Administration Dept. of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing since 2001.
Li was the Assistant Curator of the Chinese Pavilion at the Sao Paulo Biennale (2002), Shanghai Biennale (2002) and Allôrs la Chine (Centre Georges Pompidou, France, 2003). His publications include The Sculpture in Post-modernism Time (1999, Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House) and The Curators (2003, Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House).
Pi Li is also the Founder of the Art Union website (arts.tom.com), Chief Editor of Contemporary Art Magazine and Director of the Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2001. In 2005, he founded the Universal Studios-Beijing, together with Waling Bores, an art centre which supports individual creations in visual arts, design, films and music. His film production Shanghai Dreams won the 2005 Jury Prize in Cannes.
Other positions held by Pi Li include Advisor of Asian-Pacific contemporary art to the Tate Collection, Curator for the Asian-Pacific region for the Artist Pension Trust, Curator of Phaidon 2006’s CREAM 4 publishing project, Curator of Media City Seoul in 2006 and Director of the 2006 Chinese Contemporary Art Awards.
Pi Li curated a Presence and Place screening programme as well as the Beijing CD Rom programme of MAAP 2000 Festival. In 2002 Pi Li was a curator on the MAAP in Beijing 2002 Organising Committee.