Mizuki Takahashi

Contemporary art curator Mizuki Takahashi gained a history of art MA at SOAS in London before taking up roles with prominent institutions in her native Japan, first as a founding curatorial member at Mori Art Museum and later at the Contemporary Art Centre, Art Tower Mito. After completing a research fellowship at Central Saint Martins, Takahashi moved to Hong Kong to establish the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT), which works to celebrate the legacy of Hong Kong’s textile industry through events, exhibitions and workshops. As executive director and chief curator, she leads CHAT’s curatorial programmes, which incorporate contemporary art, design, craft and industrial heritage from a textile point of view. Her exhibitions have received global acclaim, from online arts magazine Hyper Allergic to the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art. Alongside her work as curator, Takahashi oversees partnership programmes with local and international museums and institutions. Beyond her day job she’s passionate about Japanese girls’ comics, a subject on which she’s an expert – her 2008 MA dissertation on Shōjo Manga continues to be cited in academic papers. Currently Takahashi also mentors local museum professionals, as well as working towards CHAT’s fifth anniversary next year, when she’ll oversee its first CHAT Contemporary Textile Art Prize. But given her “work hard, play hard” motto, there’ll surely be some fabulous celebrations in the line-up too.