Japan Foundation Asia Center
When I was an undergrad, I gave a presentation in my Japanese art history class about the Yokohama Triennale. Years later I found myself at that same triennale in the port city of Yokohama working for the Asia Center—it felt like a full circle moment.
My portfolio of programs revolved around disaster education and climate resilience; curatorial and visual arts exhibition support; contemporary Japanese literature; architecture and design for social good.
Disaster recovery
I spent so much time in places severely affected by major disasters like the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. We visited small towns in the Japanese countryside, met so many survivors—people trying to rebuild after the tsunami swept everything away. It was an unforgettable experience and I was fortunate to listen to their stories.
Curatorial Support Program
I had the opportunity to support the work of twenty-eight emerging curators from Southeast Asia and Japan.
Some of my projects
Disaster education, recovery, and climate resilience
Hope and Dreams (HANDs) was a research fellowship and grant program for young leaders working on disaster education and climate resilience. It involved yearly study tours in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. I developed and managed the country program for the Philippines with our partners from Ashoka and Habi Education.
Curatorial and arts exhibition support
We organized workshops to bring together emerging curators from Japan and Southeast Asia to explore and share insights on their work. As part of the exhibition support program, we helped the curators with the organization of their group exhibitions—RUN & LEARN: New Curatorial Constellations and Condition Report: Almost There.
Contemporary Japanese literature
I developed several small projects to promote contemporary Japanese literature in the Philippines, including bringing MONKEY New Writing from Japan to the Asia-Pacific Writers Conference. MONKEY is the English-language offspring of the Tokyo-based Japanese literary journal MONKEY, founded by Motoyuki Shibata, one of Japan’s most acclaimed translators of American fiction.
Architecture and design for social good
One of my most rewarding projects was the two-year collaboration with Ishinomaki Laboratory. Starting as a simple, public workshop for the local community devastated by the tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, Ishinomaki Lab is now a well known furniture brand. From Tubigon, Bohol to Escolta, Manila, the workshops helped empower local makers with Ishinomaki Lab’s Do-It-Yourself spirit. Here’s a nice interview with the workshop leader, Takahiro Chiba.
