Have you always harboured a passion for art, even as a child?
Not really, but I was always pretty curious about everything, which I think is what drew me into it.

Do you have any artistic skills yourself?
I can make some pretty mean cocktails – that’s about it!

What are some key artworks that have really resonated with you over the years?
I’d have no idea where to start! I’ve always had such diverse interests that things resonate with me for so many different reasons. I’d have to say, though, visiting some of the ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic religious sights throughout Asia always has a great impact for me.

What do you personally love about Asian art?
That there’s such great diversity of ideas, histories, geographies, ethnicities, belief systems, and contemporary culture, but it’s also a region where there’s still more discover in both established and emerging contemporary art centres. Also, how it connects to our experiences and with artists in Australia, and across the world.

Imagine you’re taking us on an art tour of Asia – where would we stop?
Where would we start? There’s a tonne of places I’m still waiting to get to, but if I had to name a couple of must-dos: there’d be a good few places in Japan but definitely the art island of Naoshima, Hampi in South India, the Crafts Museum in Delhi, Patan in Nepal, Borobudur in Java, Jingdezhen in China, artist studios in Chiang Mai. Oh and ruangrupa in Jakarta.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as Associate Curator of Asian Art at QAGOMA?
Juggling one of the biggest fashion exhibitions we’ve done, travelling to five countries for Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) research, and helping out on a complete redesign and rehang of a wing of our collection galleries – all in the space of a few months!

What about the greatest rewards?
You get to meet loads of great people from all over the place – from sitting with our director in the tiny house of one of the pioneering contemporary artists of Myanmar in Yangon a couple of months ago, to introducing some of Japan’s fashion experts to my favourite shops in Brisbane last weekend. Oh, and the art is cool too!

What can we expect to gawk at during Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion­?
The exhibition will feature a really incredible range of Japanese fashion garments, starting with the deconstructed, monochrome forms that shook the fashion world in the early 1980s, all the way to cult labels that have emerged in the backstreets of Harajuku recently. There’s a big focus on the pioneering figures, but also highlighting younger designers and labels that continue to push the boundaries and concepts of clothing. Lots of colour and texture with dramatic display spaces, but also heaps of video footage, catalogues and photographs that celebrate the reason why Japan has become such a centre for avant-garde design. It’s a really comprehensive look at such an fascinating period.

What do you hope visitors will take away from Future Beauty?
Firstly, I think an understanding of why Japanese designers have been so influential over the last 30 years, and how they’ve brought such unique approaches to fashion. The core of the exhibition is really about how these designers have been such innovators, from challenging the European conventions of fashion and how the body could be presented, but also how clothing can function. There are designers who create garments to be artworks, styles created for particular otaku or subcultures, and collections that test what clothing can be – from books that fold out to garments, to coats designed to hold emergency equipment in a disaster – there’s some really wild ideas in the show. One of the important things for me, though, is also understanding some of the broader artistic and cultural underpinnings that have motivated these developments, and some of these relate to quite unique Japanese sensibilities and aesthetic principles. The show is structured to enhance these broader ideas and draws out how they might connect to art and other forms of contemporary Japanese culture.

What do you personally consider to be the must-see piece of the exhibition?
It’s a bit of a tough one but as I tend to lean toward the street/urban styles a bit, I’d probably say some of the collections by Jun Takahashi. He was known as one of the leaders of the backstreet Harajuku movement and had a passion for a punk aesthetic. If you tended towards more elegant styles, you might be drawn to Yohji Yamamoto’s monochrome garments, or if you wanted to see advanced techniques, Junya Watanabe’s garments are mind-blowing. Then of course there are incredibly influential and innovative approaches and sculptural forms – maybe Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo.

What other supplementary events will be held during the exhibition?
It all kicks off on opening weekend with a bunch of programs, including Akira Isogawa in conversation with Alison Kubler. I think the Up Late program is going to be huge for this show. We’ve got some of the best musicians coming out from Japan, plus some big drawcards from Australia and internationally. Our Future Fashion Sundays will feature a series of talks hosted by Dr Nadia Buick, which will feature a diverse group of local designers, artists and fashion/art curators along with workshops and garment swaps.

What else should we see at the gallery before we leave?
We also have our major Japanese contemporary art exhibition We Can Make Another Future: Japanese Art After 1989 on at the same time. This is an incredible showcase of contemporary Japanese art and celebrates our extensive collection, which is one of the most significant outside Japan. I’ve found the connections between the fashion and contemporary art exhibition really incredible and surprising, and of course it’s such an amazing opportunity to see them alongside each other – something you rarely get to experience at other fashion exhibitions.

You’ll be hosting a Conversations with Curators session on February 5, what insights will participants gain from this talk?
Whatever visitors would like to ask, there’s always an interesting – and often unexpected – conversation when we invite a more conversational program. Hopefully I don’t get caught out too bad!

What are your future plans for the Asian Art collection at QAGOMA – can you reveal any other exhibitions in the works?
We’re really starting to gear up for APT8 and some of the curators are now on the final research trips throughout the region. It’s incredible to hear from everyone as they come back from the different countries with new ideas and artists they’ve met. Then we need to work out how we can stitch it all together and get really ambitious with some of the projects – you might have to wait a little longer for the details though! We’ve also been talking a lot about the entire collection and have very recently re-opened our International and Asian Art. We’ve tried to look at the collection quite differently and drawn out some fascinating stories and juxtapositions – I think we’re all passionate about continuing some of these conversations and connections, and looking at how we can show the collection in different ways and to its greatest strength. So you might see some old favourites in a new context.

What’s your personal definition of success?
I’ve never really thought about it … Maybe it’s like telling a good joke: a good idea plus good execution, but always know your audience.

Only a local would know … where you can park in the valley and get a decent coffee after 4:00 pm.

FAVOURITE WEEKEND SPOT TO:
Perk up … Jamie’s Espresso Bar in Fortitude Valley – it’s not just coffee!
Relax … in the ocean.
Dine … if it’s for something casual with friends, Wagaya in Fortitude Valley.
Be inspired … anywhere, I can get excited pretty easily!

Photography by Mark Sherwood, courtesy of QAGOMA.