Junko Asano and Nick Yu
Junko Asano and Nick Yu are a research and curatorial duo committed to documenting diasporic creativity through multi-disciplinary research and experimental public programmes. Asano is a researcher completing her PhD at Oxford University on the labour movement of Indonesian migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, and the co-founder of Pondok, a discussion platform on Southeast Asia. Yu is an independent curator and writer based between Hong Kong and London, who previously worked at the Lahore Biennale, Asymmetry Art Foundation, and Blindspot Gallery. Together, they organised ‘Growing Gills’, an eight-week public programme on Sinophone feminism in 2023 which staged lecture performances, film screenings, open mics, cooking workshops and intimate conversations. More recently, they organised ‘Kalyna Red’, a full-day public programme of Ukrainian culture, involving talks, screenings and music performances. In partnership with Art Divvy and Eaton, they are initiating a South and Southeast Asian film festival showcasing indie and artist films from the region and its diaspora.