Emerging, unusually, from a training in theater rather than art history or curatorial studies, Hoffmann has used his directorial knowledge in particular to articulate his unique approach to curating. From 2003 to 2007, Hoffmann was the Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and has curated over 30 exhibitions internationally since the late 1990s. Most recently he was co-curator of the 2nd San Juan Triennial, Puerto Rico, 2009, and was the curator, with Adriano Pedrosa, of the 12th International Istanbul Biennial in 2011. Currently he is the curator of the 9th Shanghai Biennial opening in October 2012. With Harrell Fletcher, Hoffmann developed the People’s Biennial, which was presented in 2010 and 2011 at five US museums. In 2009 he founded The Exhibitionist: A Journal for Exhibition Making and is editor-at-large of Mousse magazine. He is currently the Director of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts at the California College of the Arts where he also directs the Capp Street Project artist-in-residence program.