Kennie Ting is the Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum. He has overseen the shift in the museum’s curatorial approach from a geographical focus to a thematic, cross-cultural focus, and from an ethnographic focus to a focus on aesthetics, craft and design. He has helmed exhibitions on the arts of Myanmar, Korea, Cambodia, Indonesia and Japan, and on the material culture of cosmopolitan Asian port cities. Most recently, ACM under his direction has presented exhibitions and […]
Artist, Bangkok Kawita Vatanajyankur is an artist from Bangkok who has garnered international recognition through an artistic practice that utilises her own body, often to mimic and perform tasks otherwise carried out by tools; in the process, Vatanajyankur renders visceral the notions of manual labour and consumption, particularly as they relate to the female body within the context of her home, Thailand. Her work has been curated into prestigious shows such as Thailand Eye (2015) at the Saatchi Gallery, London and Islands in […]
Artist, Taipei Kang Ya-Chu, is CHAT’s 2019 Artist-in-Residence. Born and based in Taipei, she has been exploring in her art practices the issues of identity, the relationship between human and nature and the social environment through an extensive range of medium including mixed media sculpture, site-specific installation, land art, video, drawing, photograph, textile research and collaboration. During her time as CHAT’s Artist-in-Residence, she continues her research within the context of Hong Kong, involving the narratives of former textile workers in […]
Fashion design collective, Hong Kong and Shanghai FFIXXED STUDIOS is a contemporary, ready-to-wear label for men and women. Inspired by reimagining the everyday, the label focuses on exploring and reflecting work-life balance through artful fabrication and bold design. Founded in 2012 by Fiona Lau and Kain Picken, FFIXXED STUDIOS combines the pair’s backgrounds in fine art and fashion to create pieces born from a philosophy of reinterpretation, movement and openness. Their collections have appeared at Tokyo, Paris and Shanghai Fashion […]
Fashion designer, Tokyo Tominaga Wataru is a fashion designer and artist currently based in Tokyo and has lived in Helsinki, Paris and London. In 2015, upon graduation from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, he became the recipient of the prestigious Grand Jury Prize Première Vision at the 31st edition of the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography. Tominaga’s characteristic works involve the application of vinyl over twisted and pleated fabrics printed with maximalist designs, which unfolds […]
Artist, Bamako Aboubakar Fofana was born in Mali and moved to France at an early age. As a child in West Africa, he was told of stories of green leaves that made blue colours. Years later, already an established calligrapher, artist and graphic designer living in France, he recalled such stories and embarked on a dedicated journey to understand indigo and his West African heritage. Working with a living medium such as indigo, his work harnesses cycles of birth, life […]
Artist and academic, Vienna Karin Altmann is an Austrian artist, academic, art mediator and a senior lecturer at the Department of Textile Arts, University of Applied Arts Vienna, where she teaches on three main areas: dyeing with natural dyes, textile printing and textile production. Altmann’s practice is transcultural, often working with partners from Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Japan and Ghana; her projects are also often inclusive of children, people with disabilities, refugees and women under psychological or social pressure. As both […]
Founder, Studio Adrien Gardère, Paris Adrien Gardère is a designer, museographer and founder of Studio Adrien Gardère, which has established enduring relationships with major international institutions such as the Musée du Louvre, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and has worked with some of the world’s leading architects such as Foster + Partners, SANAA, David Chipperfield and Fumihiko Maki. Gardère enjoys new partnerships in which design and content provide a visual, educational and […]
Director, Rhizomatiks Architecture, Tokyo Born in Kanagawa in 1975, Saito Seiichi began his career in New York in 2000 after graduating from Columbia University with a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design (MSAAD). Since then, he has been active in creative work at the Arnell Group, and returned to Japan upon being selected for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial event. He produces works in the commercial art field which are three-dimensional and interactive while rooted in logical thought, which he […]
Lead Curator, Design and Architecture, M+, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Hong Kong Yokoyama Ikko is lead curator of design and architecture at M+, Hong Kong’s new museum for visual culture at West Kowloon Cultural District. Before joining M+, she was based in Stockholm and served as head of exhibitions at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. As an independent curator and writer, Yokoyama worked on international exhibitions and projects, including Found MUJI Sweden, Stockholm (2016); Japanese Design Revisited for Helsinki Design […]