The esteemed Japanese curator is the first Asian to land the top job at the renowned contemporary art festival.

The head curator of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Mami Kataoka, has been named as the next Artistic Director of the Sydney Biennale. She will be the first Asian to hold the position, although she is no stranger to the famous art festival, having been one of the thirteen international advisors for this year’s Biennale. Kataoka is particularly celebrated for her curation of works exploring socio-historical and generational trends within Japanese and Asian art. Her international career features major exhibitions and festivals across East Asia and North America.

The Chairman of the Biennale of Sydney, Kate Mills, described Kataoka as “one of the region’s most accomplished curators,” adding, “Mami will bring a truly fresh perspective and an Asian sensibility to the exhibition.”

Kataoka will curate the 21st Biennale of Sydney in 2018, which will feature a particular focus on the art of the Asia-Pacific region. Her approach will celebrate the multicultural diversity found in Australia’s great cities. “I am interested to ask how we can test the Biennale’s significance given the growing understanding of multiple modernities; the many socio-political contexts and accelerated complexities in the world conditions today,” Kataoka said. “I’m thrilled to work together with great artists from Australia and around the world to find ways to engage in depth with its history, diverse communities and contexts.”

The Biennale of Sydney is one of Australia’s most internationally acclaimed art festivals. Since 1973, it has celebrated the best and the brightest of the world’s contemporary artists, and alongside the Venice and São Paulo Biennales, it is one of the longest running exhibitions of its kind.