Mio Nakai (Associate Designer, Stage Manager) is a curator, art educator, writer, archivist, programmer, and graduate student at Sotheby’s Institute of Art majoring in Art Business. In 2011, she received First Prize in the Japanese Ministry of Education Thesis Awards out of over 60,000 candidates from 15 countries. In Tokyo, she worked at Nada Gallery, Koyama Tomio Gallery, and Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art. Recent curations: Japanese Women: Film & Poetry at M. M. Serra and Jonas Mekas’ Film-Maker’s Cooperative in New York and Faketopia at TAV Gallery in Tokyo, a group show of international video artists including Elektra KB’s Bodies of Water; Body as a Prison and Prison as a Body, which was inspired by Marius Mason and Chelsea Manning.

EDUCATION /AWARDS

2016 Sotheby's Institute of Art, MA Art Business Program

2015 Tokyo Gakugei University, Bachelors of Fine Art, Art Education

2014 Supported by a grant from Arts Council Tokyo in Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture

2011 1st Prize Japanese Ministry of Education Thesis Award selected from over 60,000 candidates in 15 countries

 WORK EXPERIENCE

2015 Development Intern, The Film Makers’ Cooperative (New York)
Negotiated with over 40 artists to donate for an art auction called Paddle8. Worked with art auction department to manage the classifications of artworks and executed art handling. Curated screening show and archived films.

2015 Curator, TAV Gallery (Suginami-City, Tokyo, Japan)
Organized a community project to display artwork in alternative spaces. Invited to curate an exhibition with over 20 international experimental video and film artists. As a cultural ambassador, worked with director to design the layout of exhibition.

2013-14 Teaching Fellow, Kitanodai Primary School (Chofu, Tokyo, Japan), Koganei Primary School (Koganei, Tokyo, Japan)
Taught full elementary school curriculum to 30 students, ages 10-13. Practiced Dialogical Appreciation for art with a focus on moving images. Taught under the supervision of a certified teacher in order to qualify for a degree in education. Interested in improving students ability to comprehend artistic drawing independently.

2013 Administrative Assistant, Nada Art Gallery (Chuou-ku, Tokyo, Japan)
Generated new client base and negotiated sales with five collectors. Conducted research in contemporary art for new exhibitions,installed exhibitions and assisted with publicity. Developed a platform for Asian art through NEW CITY ART FAIR, Taipei 2013.

2012 Development Intern, Koyama Tomio Gallery (Koutou-ku, Tokyo, Japan)
For a renown gallery, researched and compiled contemporary Japanese artists’ biography packages incorporating skills in Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, Filmmaker Pro. Introduced new clients to gallery. Negotiated sale of Adam Silverman’s artwork.

2011-12 Development Intern, M-WARP Co. (Tokyo, Japan), Development Intern, Rich Media Co. (Tokyo, Japan)
Designed IT app in collaboration with hardware engineers. Made app for smart phones with focus on usability and affordability. Promoted the “Line” smartphone app to a range of companies. Set up accounts of Line for companies and learned about development of Japanese IT industry. Practiced sales in Asian markets such as Indonesia and Singapore.

2011 Volunteer, The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (Taitou-ku, Tokyo, Japan)
Incubated art projects to connect the museum with the community. Practiced Dialogical Appreciation for viewers. Interested in improving viewers ability to appreciate video art and film in a museum setting.

 INDEPENDENT CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE

2015 “Takahiko Iimura, Film & Video Made in Tokyo & New York”, CC Studio (Shibuya-City, Tokyo, Japan)
Curated retrospective of Japanese video art and experimental film pioneer, Takahiko Iimura’s artistry from 1962 to 2012 including 10 works. Featured work with John Cage, Jonas Mekas and others, some previously on display at The Met and MoMA.

2015 “AQUA WORKS 2015” Hakudou Kobayashi Video Art Exhibition (Sakaiki, Shinjuku-City, Tokyo, Japan)
Presented a retrospective of seven works and a new video performance with live sound. Hakudou Kobayashi is a prominent figure in Japanese video art. Kobayashi exhibited at the Osaka Expo in 1970 and made the art movement, “Video Hiroba”.

2014 “Inspiration and Transformation, Madelon Hooykaas” Exhibition (Sakaiki, Shinjuku-City, Tokyo, Japan)
Created Hooykaas’ first exhibition in Japan with 10 retrospective video art screenings. From Holland, Hooykaas has exhibited at MoMA and Tate Modern. Orchestrated and hosted an interview with Hooykaas for an audience of curators.

2014 “Asia-Vacuumed Cityscape” Video Art Exhibition (Sakaiki, Shinjuku-City, Tokyo, Japan)
Exhibited differences between large cites and small cites. Artists included Nguyen Nhu Huy (Vietnam), Andrew Stiff (Malaysia), Richard Coronel (Philippines), LIM Chee-Yong (Malaysia/Taiwan), Ari Satria Darma (Indonesia).

2014 “Men & Women” Video Art Exhibition (Sakaiki, Shinjuku-City, Tokyo, Japan)
Explored a program with themes of gender, sexuality and performance. Featured seven videos from both male and female artist such as Takahiko Iimura and Sung Nam Han. An audience talkback focused on how discrimination has changed since 1960.

 WORKS OF ART / PERFORMANCES / PUBLICATIONS

2015 “TAV Gallery” New Gallery Section, BIJUTSUTECHO Magazine, Tokyo Japan.
Interviewed as a new curator with a fresh and new perspective and a conceptual style that has flare for intrigue.

2014 Performed with Fluxus members in an art project at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

2013 “Improvisation-Sakamoto Hiromichi” Produced documentary film on avant-garde sound artist.

2013 “Night Parasol-Hako Yamazaki” Produced music video of prominent singer in Japan.

2012 “FT -Movie & Date-” Editor and graphic designer for magazine focusing on film, venues, and community.“Tobira” Publisher for an underground museum magazine.

2010 Played violin with Tokyo University Orchestra at the Tokyo Disney Sea.