Kieran Long


Kieran Long is a British journalist, curator and museum director specializing in architecture and design. He is the director and CEO of Amos Rex, a contemporary art museum in Helsinki, Finland. Previously, he served as director of ArkDes, Sweden’s national museum of architecture and design, and as the Keeper of Design, Architecture, and Digital at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Long has worked as a journalist and critic, mostly in architecture and design, including as editor-in-chief of Architects’ Journal and The Architectural Review, and as an architecture critic for The Evening Standard. He has also presented BBC television programmes such as Restoration Home and The House That £100K Built. In addition to his curatorial and media work, he has lectured at institutions including the Royal College of Art and London Metropolitan University. His book Sigurd Lewerentz, Architect of Death and Life examines the work of the influential Swedish architect.

Early life and education

Long was born on 19 August 1977. He studied English literature at Cardiff University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998. He is a fluent Swedish speaker.

Career

Journalism and publishing

He began his career at Building Design, where he worked from 1998 to 2001. He then joined World Architecture Magazine before serving as deputy editor of Icon Magazine. From 2007 to 2010, he was editor-in-chief of Architects’ Journal and The Architectural Review. From January 2010 to June 2013, he worked as an architecture critic for the London Evening Standard.

Television and media

Long has worked as a television presenter for the BBC. He was a presenter on Restoration Home and The House That £100K Built for the BBC, both of which focused on architecture and home renovation.

Museum leadership and curatorial work

Long has held teaching positions at several institutions. From 2011 to 2012, he was a tutor in design products at the Royal College of Art. Prior to that, he was a tutor and head of public programmes at London Metropolitan University from 2001 to 2011. He has also taught at Kingston University, the University of Greenwich, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
In 2023, Long served as a commissioner representing Sweden in the Nordic Pavilion’s contribution to the Venice Biennale of Architecture, alongside representatives from Norway and Finland. From December 2011 to September 2012, he was assistant director of the 2012 Venice Biennale of Architecture under artistic director David Chipperfield. He led the curatorial team in delivering 73 exhibitions and installations, as well as four publications.
From September 2012 to April 2017, Long was Keeper of the Design, Architecture and Digital Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Long served as Director of ArkDes, the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, from 2017 to 2024. Based in Stockholm, ArkDes is the national museum of architecture and design, a state authority, and a research institution focused on design, the built environment, and the role of architecture in society. Under Long's leadership at ArkDes, the institution participated in the 16th International Architecture Exhibition in 2018, presenting aspects of Sigurd Lewerentz's work.
In 2024, he was appointed director and CEO of Amos Rex in Helsinki.

Board memberships and advisory roles

Long has served as a board member and non-executive director of the V&A Dundee since 2022 and is also on the advisory board of the New Museum of Architecture and Design in Helsinki.
Previously, he was an advisory board member to the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.

Teaching and public speaking events

Long has held teaching positions at the Royal College of Art in London, Kingston University, Greenwich University, London Metropolitan University, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. He has also lectured widely at universities and institutions around the world, including Yale University, Columbia University, the University of California, Berkeley, Technische Universität Berlin, the Free University of Berlin, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Helsinki, Aalto University, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture.
In addition, he has given public talks at major cultural events and venues such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Paris Photo, and M+ and the Museum Summit 2023, both in Hong Kong. Recent lectures have included presentations on the work of Sigurd Lewerentz at Yale, Columbia, and the CCA.

Writing and publications

Long has written extensively about architecture and design. His book Sigurd Lewerentz, Architect of Death and Life explores the career and legacy of Swedish architect Sigurd Lewerentz. The book takes its starting point from the ArkDes collection and the results of the authors Johan Örn and Mikael Andersson's many years of research.

Other publications include

New London Interiors
Hatch: The New Architectural Generation
Is This What You Mean By Localism?
95 Theses for Museum Curation
Common Ground: A Critical Reader
There is Simply Too Much To Think About: Searching for Something Like a Culture in Ryan Gander’s Fieldwork in Fieldwork: An Incomplete Reader, Ryan Gander
The Future Starts Here, V&A Publishing

Selected exhibitions curated

All of this Belongs to You, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2015
The Future Starts Here, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2018
Public Luxury, ArkDes, 2018
''Sigurd Lewerentz, Architect of Death and Life, ArkDes, 2021–22''

Awards and recognitions

Long was named IBP Architecture critic of the year in 2004. In 2021, Long was named as a

Personal life

Long is married to Sofia Lagerkvist, a designer and member of the Swedish design group Front. They have one son.

Controversies

Kieran Long was appointed director of the Amos Rex art museum in November 2023, and his arrival in Finland sparked controversy. The Swedish press had earlier reported dissatisfaction among subordinates with Long's leadership style, which employees described as "sociopathically controlling" and "mean." According to a group of employees interviewed by Form-design magazine in 2019, Long's leadership style was strict and made the work atmosphere difficult. An Amos Rex employee interviewed by Helsingin Sanomat described that the work atmosphere at the museum has significantly deteriorated during Long's tenure.
Long's leadership at Amos Rex has had visible consequences: the museum has lost several competent employees, whose positions have not been replaced with equivalent staff. In connection with severance packages, employees have often had to sign confidentiality agreements. This has led to distrust towards the director and a poor work atmosphere, described within the museum field as harsh and capricious leadership. The daily operations of the museum have reportedly become more difficult due to staff shortages, and new employees are being sought also from abroad. Changes in the museum's staff have occurred without transparency, without proper negotiations or support for those who resigned.