Alex Wen

Hi, I’m Alex! I like to make things—whether it’s websites, film festivals, or magazines. My work revolves around creativity as a way to enact change, connect communities, and actualize a better world. I enjoy writing about films, bridging together creative communities, and thinking about ways to prioritize process over product.

Practices The things I like to do. » 001. Web Development—Respair Media, Nairobi Print Project, City Bureau, Spellerberg Associates, Empire Taste » 002. Design—3-Act Film, subtitle, Groove Salon, Pop-up Print Kit, Albany Park Art Party » 003. some other things—commonfolk, Empire Taste Print Magazine, Hoist Music Festival 2019, Asian Cinevision, The Quarant-Times, Seashorts Film Festival
Process The way I do things. » A. www—experiments on the web » B. Design—a life worth living, designed » C. Photography—a glimmer of the ordinary » D. Writing—observations on the world

Practices

Web Development
001

Exploring technology as a means to manifest new possibilities. Over 8 years of freelance experience, working as an individual, as part of a team, and in an agency. Proficient in React, Ruby on Rails, Wordpress (PHP), and NodeJS for web development.

Respair Media

Respair is an ecosystem hub creating and supporting the media needed to reshape culture toward liberation.

respairmedia.com
Nairobi Print Project

A platform dedicated to scholarly research and conversation on contemporary art and curatorial practice in Africa and the Black diaspora.

nairobiprintproject.com
City Bureau (Annual Report 2022)

City Bureau brings people together to produce media that is impactful, equitable and responsive to the public.

citybureauannualreport2022.org
Wordpress Developer for Spellerberg Associates

Providing development support for museums and cultural institutions: Wordpress Maintenance, Site Migration, Advanced Custom Fields Integration, Mailchimp, Shopify, etc.

  • The Andy Warhol Museum
  • Canyon Cinema
  • Chinese American Museum
  • Hammer Museum
  • Media City Film Festival
  • Museum of Contemporary Photography
  • Rubin Museum of Art
Web Developer for Empire Taste

Collaborated with artists to create digital art experiences, as well as create portfolio sites: Squarespace and some good old HTML/CSS/JS Magic.

  • A$AP Mob
  • Jordan Ward
  • Kilo Kish
  • Pivot Gang
Design
002

Experienced in Web Design (Squarespace, etc.), as well as Layout/Print Design and Digital Design (Illustrator).

3-Act Film

A film magazine and community on Burmese new cinema. Collaborated for Issue 6 of the Magazine. Lead Art Direction: Cover Design, Asset Designs, Layout Designs.

subtitle

A publication and community focused on covering films from Asia and the Asian diaspora. Our goal is to shift the cultural conversation of Asian cinema to recenter Asian voices in Western discourse, apply film critique through a radical lens, and broaden the definition of Asian film canon as defined by the general public.

Groove Salon

A DJ night at Superkhana International, hosted by Nick2Bomb

Pop-up Print Kit

A printable exhibition, created by MATTER and People Print

Albany Park Art Party

A community gallery and pop-up print space, by Albany Park Organization Center

Some other things
003

Life in collaboration.

commonfolk Co-founder

A creative collective rooted in collaborative practices and processes. We look to cultivate interconnectedness within creative communities, build platforms that support marginalized folks, and imagine a better, alternative future through explorations of the creative process.

Empire Taste Print Magazine Editor-in-Chief
with Empire Taste

A team of writers, designers, and photographers came together to create a collection of stories, photo sets, and art from our past and present. Features interviews with A.CHAL, Saba, and Naturel.

Hoist Music Festival 2019 Co-coordinator

We curated a one-day music festival at Subterranean featuring some of the our favorite local acts, including Rich Jones, Family Reunion, Jovan Landry, and more.

Asian Cinevision Web Team Manager

Asian CineVision is a New York-based nonprofit media arts organization devoted to the development, exhibition, promotion, and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video.

The Quarant-times Co-curator

A bi-weekly digital zine documenting and archiving art during quarantine, featuring written pieces, photography, videos, and more.

SeaShorts Film Festival Webmaster

An annual film festival hosted in Malaysia celebrating short films from Southeast Asia.

Process

www

PNGs of Interest

ordinary images worth documenting

featuring some empty space for you to stretch and relax

I'm glad we found each other in this virtual world.