Historian

I am an East Asia-focused cultural historian and curator working at the intersection of research, exhibitions, and the systems that shape how art reaches public life.

I hold a PhD from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), supported by the prestigious Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS). My doctoral research, based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork across East Asia, developed a contemporary definition of the art collector — moving away from outdated, hierarchical, and culturally supremacist traditions toward more dynamic, inclusive, and context-sensitive understandings.

For the past seventeen years, I have worked across academia, cultural institutions, and the private sector. My practice is grounded in close observation and a deep interest in how culture is constantly negotiated — through objects, institutions, and the people who care for them.

Trained in history with a background in political science and international relations, I maintain two core lines of inquiry: how collections create meaning, and how the contemporary art world actually functions. I approach collecting as a living cultural language that reveals shifting ideas of value, taste, and power. As a curator, I translate these questions into exhibitions that function as spaces for slow thinking and genuine encounter rather than spectacle.

I am particularly drawn to questions of cultural mobility, art philanthropy, and how acts of giving shape collective memory. I also maintain a longstanding engagement with mid-century modern design and the twentieth-century democratization of aesthetics.

I work best in collaborative environments where ideas can be tested, challenged, and refined together. I am always open to conversations and joint projects involving research, curatorial experimentation, and meaningful cross-cultural exchange.