ABOUT CNTRFLD.ART
CNTRFLD.ART is a living archive dedicated to the cultural and creative lives of the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) diaspora.
Conceptualised in 2022 and launched publicly in 2024, with its governing structure established in 2025, CNTRFLD.ART sits between publishing, research, and community documentation—responding to the persistent absence, fragmentation, and misrepresentation of ESEA voices within the global arts landscape. Rather than positioning itself as an institution, CNTRFLD.ART operates as an evolving, open-access archive: one that records not only finished works, but the contexts, conversations, and conditions that shape them.
At its core is a simple premise: that diasporic cultural production is not peripheral, but foundational—and that its documentation is both urgent and necessary.
A LIVING ARCHIVE
CNTRFLD.ART functions as a continuously expanding repository of interviews, essays, visual work, and research. It traces connections across geographies, disciplines, and generations, building a layered record of ESEA artistic practice as it unfolds in real time.
The archive is intentionally open and accessible. It is used by artists, students, researchers, and independent practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of diasporic histories and contemporary cultural movements that often exist outside traditional institutional frameworks.
This is not a static collection, but an active process of recording, publishing, and reframing.
EDITORIAL APPROACH
Rooted in the legacy of independent publishing, CNTRFLD.ART brings a considered editorial lens to the archive. Each feature—whether an interview, text, or visual contribution—is treated as part of a wider cultural record.
The project draws from a lineage shaped by CENTREFOLD Magazine, extending its commitment to critical dialogue and visual culture into a more research-driven, publicly accessible format.
CNTRFLD.ART is particularly attentive to practices operating at the edges: artist-led spaces, grassroots initiatives, and diasporic networks that resist easy categorisation or institutional capture.
WHY IT EXISTS
ESEA cultural narratives have often been overlooked, flattened, or inconsistently recorded. CNTRFLD.ART exists to address this gap—not by speaking for a community, but by creating space for practitioners to speak within their own contexts.
By documenting these voices with care and continuity, the archive contributes to a broader cultural understanding: one that recognises diasporic experience as complex, evolving, and integral to contemporary art.
WHO WE ARE
ANDREW HOBBS
Co-founder and Trustee. Andrew Hobbs is a creative director and photographer who has spent over two decades at the intersection of publishing and visual arts. In 2001, he co-founded CENTREFOLD Magazine, later serving as Executive Creative Director and leading a multidisciplinary team across London and New York. Under his stewardship, CENTREFOLD was awarded "Best Magazine of the Year," a distinction judged by industry luminaries such as Peter Saville and the late Wim Crouwel.
Alongside his editorial work, Andrew has maintained an established career in photography and design, contributing to titles including i-D, Vogue, and Rolling Stone, and collaborating with heritage brands such as Globe-Trotter and Mackintosh. At CNTRFLD.ART, Andrew applies this extensive expertise in high-standard publishing to the preservation of cultural narratives, supporting the archive as a high-quality, publicly accessible educational resource.
MARIA CHEN
Co-founder and Trustee. Maria Chen is a designer, researcher, and illustrator whose work is defined by a commitment to cultural discourse and gender-inclusive aesthetics. A graduate of Central Saint Martins (MA) and a doctoral candidate at the Royal College of Art, Maria was the first Taiwanese woman to receive the British Fashion Council’s NewGen award. Her career has spanned collaborations with global houses such as Armani and Calvin Klein, alongside extensive mentorship roles guiding emerging creative practitioners.
In 2022, Maria, together with Andrew Hobbs, conceptualised CNTRFLD.ART in response to the under-representation of East and Southeast Asian voices in the global arts sector. As an editor, writer, and illustrator, her work focuses on bridging fine art publishing with diasporic histories and contemporary practice. She also serves on the Board of Trustees at esea contemporary. At CNTRFLD.ART, she leads editorial and research development, shaping the archive as an accessible platform for cultural education and dialogue.
CNTRFLD.ART ADVISORY BOARD
PAUL DAVIES
With a multicultural background, spanning ASEAN countries, Paul Davies is an accomplished writer and editor with contributions to Arena Homme Plus, HighSnobiety, i-D, Sunday Times Style, Tank, V/V Man & Visionaire, Vogue UK, and Wallpaper*. His consultancy, Argot, has provided strategic insights for Aesop, Dover Street Market, Mercedes-Benz, and Prada's ephemeral Double Club. Paul finds his greatest inspiration when returning to Southeast Asia.
SALLY LAI
Sally Lai’s career is defined by international collaboration, working as a curator, consultant, and writer between the UK and Asia. She has held roles at Factory International/Manchester International Festival and the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global. Previously, she was Director of the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (2008-2014) and worked with Firstsite, Arts Council England, London 2012, the Future Generation Art Prize, Samsung Art Prize, The Collection, and the Wellcome Collection. Sally has served on boards including Attenborough Arts Centre and the Atlantic Project and is a Clore Leadership Fellow and Stanford University alumna. She holds an MA in Curating from Goldsmiths, University of London.
SEBASTIEN MONTABONEL
Sébastien Montabonel is the founder and co-chair of AI21C (Art Institutions of the 21st Century) and CEO of The Island. Through his advisory firm, Montabonel & Partners, he has guided governments and global organizations on cultural strategy. He previously built one of Europe's leading private collections of minimal and conceptual art and has curated seminal exhibitions, founded institutions, and hosted influential think tanks. A guest lecturer and publisher, he established Alaska Editions in 2007 and contributes to art publications and selection panels for international art prizes.
Artwork by Echo Morgan
For enquiries, collaborations, and partnerships:
hello@cntrfld.art
ABOUT CNTRFLD.ART
CNTRFLD.ART is a living archive dedicated to the cultural and creative lives of the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) diaspora.
Conceptualised in 2022 and launched publicly in 2024, with its governing structure established in 2025, CNTRFLD.ART sits between publishing, research, and community documentation—responding to the persistent absence, fragmentation, and misrepresentation of ESEA voices within the global arts landscape. Rather than positioning itself as an institution, CNTRFLD.ART operates as an evolving, open-access archive: one that records not only finished works, but the contexts, conversations, and conditions that shape them.
At its core is a simple premise: that diasporic cultural production is not peripheral, but foundational—and that its documentation is both urgent and necessary.
A LIVING ARCHIVE
CNTRFLD.ART functions as a continuously expanding repository of interviews, essays, visual work, and research. It traces connections across geographies, disciplines, and generations, building a layered record of ESEA artistic practice as it unfolds in real time.
The archive is intentionally open and accessible. It is used by artists, students, researchers, and independent practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of diasporic histories and contemporary cultural movements that often exist outside traditional institutional frameworks.
This is not a static collection, but an active process of recording, publishing, and reframing.
EDITORIAL APPROACH
Rooted in the legacy of independent publishing, CNTRFLD.ART brings a considered editorial lens to the archive. Each feature—whether an interview, text, or visual contribution—is treated as part of a wider cultural record.
The project draws from a lineage shaped by CENTREFOLD Magazine, extending its commitment to critical dialogue and visual culture into a more research-driven, publicly accessible format.
CNTRFLD.ART is particularly attentive to practices operating at the edges: artist-led spaces, grassroots initiatives, and diasporic networks that resist easy categorisation or institutional capture.
WHY IT EXISTS
ESEA cultural narratives have often been overlooked, flattened, or inconsistently recorded. CNTRFLD.ART exists to address this gap—not by speaking for a community, but by creating space for practitioners to speak within their own contexts.
By documenting these voices with care and continuity, the archive contributes to a broader cultural understanding: one that recognises diasporic experience as complex, evolving, and integral to contemporary art.
WHO WE ARE
ANDREW HOBBS
Co-founder and Trustee. Andrew Hobbs is a creative director and photographer who has spent over two decades at the intersection of publishing and visual arts. In 2001, he co-founded CENTREFOLD Magazine, later serving as Executive Creative Director and leading a multidisciplinary team across London and New York. Under his stewardship, CENTREFOLD was awarded "Best Magazine of the Year," a distinction judged by industry luminaries such as Peter Saville and the late Wim Crouwel.
Alongside his editorial work, Andrew has maintained an established career in photography and design, contributing to titles including i-D, Vogue, and Rolling Stone, and collaborating with heritage brands such as Globe-Trotter and Mackintosh. At CNTRFLD.ART, Andrew applies this extensive expertise in high-standard publishing to the preservation of cultural narratives, supporting the archive as a high-quality, publicly accessible educational resource.
MARIA CHEN
Co-founder and Trustee. Maria Chen is a designer, researcher, and illustrator whose work is defined by a commitment to cultural discourse and gender-inclusive aesthetics. A graduate of Central Saint Martins (MA) and a doctoral candidate at the Royal College of Art, Maria was the first Taiwanese woman to receive the British Fashion Council’s NewGen award. Her career has spanned collaborations with global houses such as Armani and Calvin Klein, alongside extensive mentorship roles guiding emerging creative practitioners.
In 2022, Maria, together with Andrew Hobbs, conceptualised CNTRFLD.ART in response to the under-representation of East and Southeast Asian voices in the global arts sector. As an editor, writer, and illustrator, her work focuses on bridging fine art publishing with diasporic histories and contemporary practice. She also serves on the Board of Trustees at esea contemporary. At CNTRFLD.ART, she leads editorial and research development, shaping the archive as an accessible platform for cultural education and dialogue.
CNTRFLD.ART ADVISORY BOARD
PAUL DAVIES
With a multicultural background, spanning ASEAN countries, Paul Davies is an accomplished writer and editor with contributions to Arena Homme Plus, HighSnobiety, i-D, Sunday Times Style, Tank, V/V Man & Visionaire, Vogue UK, and Wallpaper*. His consultancy, Argot, has provided strategic insights for Aesop, Dover Street Market, Mercedes-Benz, and Prada's ephemeral Double Club. Paul finds his greatest inspiration when returning to Southeast Asia.
SALLY LAI
Sally Lai’s career is defined by international collaboration, working as a curator, consultant, and writer between the UK and Asia. She has held roles at Factory International/Manchester International Festival and the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global. Previously, she was Director of the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (2008-2014) and worked with Firstsite, Arts Council England, London 2012, the Future Generation Art Prize, Samsung Art Prize, The Collection, and the Wellcome Collection. Sally has served on boards including Attenborough Arts Centre and the Atlantic Project and is a Clore Leadership Fellow and Stanford University alumna. She holds an MA in Curating from Goldsmiths, University of London.
SEBASTIEN MONTABONEL
Sébastien Montabonel is the founder and co-chair of AI21C (Art Institutions of the 21st Century) and CEO of The Island. Through his advisory firm, Montabonel & Partners, he has guided governments and global organizations on cultural strategy. He previously built one of Europe's leading private collections of minimal and conceptual art and has curated seminal exhibitions, founded institutions, and hosted influential think tanks. A guest lecturer and publisher, he established Alaska Editions in 2007 and contributes to art publications and selection panels for international art prizes.
Artwork by Echo Morgan
For enquiries, collaborations, and partnerships:
hello@cntrfld.art