Fumio Nanjo Appointed Curatorial Director For Inaugural 2016 Honolulu Biennial

On September 9, the Honolulu Biennial Foundation (HBF) announced the appointment of Fumio Nanjo as the curatorial director for the first Honolulu Biennial, slated to open fall 2016.

Nanjo has expressed “great honor and joy” at his appointment in Honolulu, a city he referred to as “a compelling site for a new biennial with its strong ties to the Asia-Pacific regions.” Upon further comments of their selection, directors of HBF lauded Nanjo’s interest in the Pacific regions, as well as his extensive curatorial practice and remarkable career devoted to contemporary art.

Nanjo is the director of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, a position he has held since 2006. His curatorial projects include the third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane (1999), artistic co-director of the Yokohama Triennale (2001) and artistic director of the Singapore Biennale (2006).

Public art and art education are other facets of Nanjo’s long-standing career. He has organized and overseen a number of exhibitions, consultations and projects at Nanjo and Associates, an organization he founded in 1990. He also lectures and writes art criticism at his alma mater, Keio University in Tokyo. Most recently in July, he was appointed the Art Education International Director at Hong Kong Arts Centre in conjunction with Hong Kong Art School.

Beginning later this year, Nanjo will commence his work as curatorial director of the Honolulu Biennial by participating in the series of public programs and preliminary events. Chain of Fire: The Prologue Exhibition for the 2016 Honolulu Biennial, co-presented by the Hawai’i International Film Festival and the Honolulu Biennial Foundation, will take place in Our Kaka’ako, a new neighborhood by Kamehameha Schools, from October 30 to November 9.