Mizuki Takahashi, Hong Kong, China

Takahashi Mizuki is a leading Japanese curator of contemporary art. Her current role is that of Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT) in Hong Kong, but her esteemed career has seen her serve as a founding curatorial member at Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and as Senior Curator at Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito, in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Takahashi’s curatorial interests are wide-ranging, encompassing a variety of themes, ideas and disciplines. During her MA studies in History of Art, she focused on the seemingly disparate specialisms of the Italian Renaissance and shōjo manga (manga aimed at girls), at Waseda University in Tokyo and The School of Oriental and African Studies in London, respectively. Takahashi has realized numerous trans-disciplinary exhibitions that incorporate various artistic forms such as manga, film, fashion, architecture, performance and contemporary art and which address socio-ethical subjects such as gender, cultural politics, and environmental concerns, amongst others.

Following a Research Fellowship at Central Saint Martins, The University of the Arts London, from 2015 to 2016, Takahashi relocated to Hong Kong to join CHAT. The textile arts centre is housed in a former cotton spinning mill of Nan Fung Textiles in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong and was opened to celebrate and convey the history and innovative legacy of Hong Kong’s textile industry. Through the exhibition and event programmes at CHAT, Takahashi highlights the key role of craftsmanship and labour in textiles.