Keith Whittle is a Tokyo-London based curator, writer, and visiting professor based between London and Tokyo, with more than two decades of experience shaping international conversations around contemporary art. His research-led curatorial practice combines critical inquiry with exhibition-making, commissioning new works and creating platforms for both established and emerging artists.<\/p>\n
Over recent years, Whittle has dedicated much of his practice to expanding the visibility of Japanese artists through exhibitions, residencies, publications, and international collaborations. He has worked closely with a diverse range of influential artists, including Chim\u2191Pom, Bontaro Dokuyama, Taro Izumi, Kyun-Chome, Mari Katayama, Meiro Koizumi, Yuko Mohri, Aki Sasamoto, Chikako Yamashiro, and Satoru Aoyama, supporting ambitious new commissions and projects across cultural contexts.<\/p>\n
A Japan Foundation Fellow and Fellow of Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, Whittle served as International Projects Associate at Central Saint Martins, where he developed and led UK\u2013Japan initiatives, including the Global Art Joint Project in collaboration with Tokyo University of the Arts. He has advised and collaborated with major cultural organisations including Arts Council England, the British Council, and The Japan Foundation.<\/p>\n
Whittle lectures internationally on modern and contemporary Japanese art and holds academic appointments at Central Saint Martins, Sotheby\u2019s Institute of Art, and Tokyo University of the Arts. He is currently focused on undertaking PhD research and writing on modern and contemporary Japanese art, with particular attention to transnational exchange, artistic networks, and the relationship between place, community, and cultural production.<\/p>\n
Emily McDowell is a Tokyo-based project manager, translator, and curator whose practice focuses on creating meaningful connections between Japanese and international contemporary art communities. Working across exhibition-making, residency programmes, and multilingual communication, she specialises in building the structures that allow cultural exchange to flourish.<\/p>\n
From 2014 to 2016, McDowell contributed to a range of international curatorial projects, including her role as international coordinator and translator for Socially Engaged Art<\/em>, an exhibition organised by ART & SOCIETY RESEARCH CENTER in collaboration with the Mori Art Museum. From 2017 to 2024, she served as project coordinator at 3331 Arts Chiyoda, the pioneering alternative art centre founded by artist Masato Nakamura, where she managed more than 120 artist residencies and established three international residency programmes supported by Japan\u2019s Agency for Cultural Affairs.<\/p>\n Alongside her work in Japanese\u2013English translation and interpretation, McDowell has developed an independent curatorial practice, presenting exhibitions and participatory projects including Daisuke Ida\u2019s Photo Sculpture<\/em> (2019) and Fuji Hiroshi\u2019s Kaekko<\/em> (2022), a city-supported workshop and toy exchange initiative engaging children and local communities.<\/p>\n Since 2024, McDowell has worked independently as a project manager, curator, and cultural advisor. Her recent projects include managing David Stenbeck\u2019s solo exhibition Temporary Monuments<\/em> at WALL_alternative and curating the \u201cCROSSOVER\u201d section of MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2024. She currently works as a freelance translator and international PR advisor for leading cultural organisations including the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo Biennale, and MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL, helping to connect Japanese contemporary art with audiences worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keith Whittle Keith Whittle is a Tokyo-London based curator, writer, and visiting professor based between London and Tokyo, with more than two decades of experience shaping international conversations around contemporary art. His research-led curatorial practice combines critical inquiry with exhibition-making, commissioning new works and creating platforms for both established and emerging artists. Over recent years, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-26","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fountain.ws\/tokyocontempo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fountain.ws\/tokyocontempo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fountain.ws\/tokyocontempo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fountain.ws\/tokyocontempo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fountain.ws\/tokyocontempo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/fountain.ws\/tokyocontempo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":375,"href":"https:\/\/fountain.ws\/tokyocontempo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26\/revisions\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fountain.ws\/tokyocontempo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}