Arts, Health & Wellbeing: Enhancing Wellbeing with Museums ―Place-Based Co-Creation in the UK and Japan

Moderator：Makino Anri（Tokyo University of the Arts）

• Tanaka Masayuki（President, The National Museum of Art, Japan; Director, The National Museum of Western Art; Director, National Center for Art Research）
• Hibino Katsuhiko（President, Tokyo University of the Arts; Director, The Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu; Director, Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto)
• Jim Booth(Country Director Japan, British Council)

Inaniwa Sawako(National Center for Art Research)

• Hannah Waterson(The University of Manchester)
• John McAuliffe(The University of Manchester)
• Julie McCarthy(Greater Manchester Combined Authority & NHS Greater Manchester)

• Kumagai Kazumi
• Inoue Tomoko(Eiju General Hospital)
• Kurokawa Hiroko(The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts)
• Tanaka Masayuki
• Hibino Katsuhiko

• Kataoka Mami（Mori Art Museum; National Center for Art Research）
  
• Yuasa Manami(British Council)
  

• Sook-Kyung Lee
• John McAuliffe
• Hibino Katsuhiko
• Tanaka Masayuki

Inaniwa Sawako
Senior Curator, Learning, National Center for Art Research (NCAR)
Research Lead for the ART-Based Platform for Co-creation

Inaniwa Sawako completed her MA at University College London (UCL). After nearly 20 years as a curator at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and other institutions, she joined NCAR in 2022. Her work focuses on museum learning and engagement, participatory practice, Cultural Prescribing, and accessibility. She contributed a chapter to New Museum Practice in Asia: Public Purpose and Engagement (2018) and is the author of Designing Society Through Art: A Collaboration Between Citizens and Cultural Institutions (2021).

Hannah Waterson
Research Associate in Knowledge Mobilisation, University of Manchester

Dr Hannah Waterson is a Research Associate at the University of Manchester, focusing on creative health and leading the evaluation of the Greater Manchester Creative Health Place Partnership. With a background in public health, Hannah has worked as research and policy lead for the National Centre for Creative Health and as a researcher exploring creative health and health inequalities at University College London.

John McAuliffe
Associate Vice-President (Culture Portfolio) and Director, Creative Manchester,
The University of Manchester

John McAuliffe has published seven poetry collections with The Gallery Press, and published widely on poetry, Irish Studies, and on participatory research and cultural policy. He has led the development of interdisciplinary research at Manchester, is Associate Publisher at leading indie press Carcanet, and was previously Deputy Chair of the Irish Arts Council.

Julie McCarthy
Creative Health Strategic Lead, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and NHS Greater Manchester

Julie McCarthy is Strategic Lead for Creative Health at GMCA and NHS Greater Manchester, leading delivery of the world’s first Creative Health City Region strategy. She works with local government, health and social care providers, the voluntary and culture sectors, academics and communities to ensure culture and creativity supports people to live well. Previously, she was responsible for opening The Horsfall at 42nd Street; the UK's only arts and mental health venue for young people. She is the author of Enacting Participatory Development (Routledge 2004) and an honorary research fellow at The University of Manchester.

Sook-Kyung Lee
Director of the Whitworth
Professor of Curatorial Practices at The University of Manchester

Sook-Kyung Lee has worked as curator, writer, and lecturer in the UK and internationally, advocating global art histories and transnational curating. She was Artistic Director of the 14th Gwangju Biennale (2023), the Commissioner and Curator of the Korea Pavilion and the Curator of the Japan Pavilion at the 56th and 60th Venice Biennale (2015, 2024). Lee was previously Senior Curator, International Art at Tate Modern, working in exhibitions and acquisitions, and headed a major multi-year research initiative ‘Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational’.

Ito Tatsuya
Professor and Director, Center for Social Collaboration, Tokyo University of the Arts
Project Leader of the ART-Based Platform for Co-creation

Ito Tatsuya completed his PhD in Art Education at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. He has been involved in planning and developing cultural programmes, including the “Tobira Project,” an art community initiative jointly run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and Tokyo University of the Arts. His publications include Designing Society Through Art: A Collaboration Between Citizens and Cultural Institutions (co-authored, 2018) and A Classroom for Care and Art (co-authored, 2022).

Kumagai Kazumi
Curator and Chief of Learning and Public Programs, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

After working in the private sector for approximately ten years, Kumagai Kazumi joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum’s Art Communication Project in 2013 and has held her current position since 2022. She oversees collaborative programmes including the Tobira Project, a co-creation initiative with Tokyo University of the Arts and citizens; Museum Start Ai-Ueno, a programme for children and their families in collaboration with cultural institutions in Ueno Park; and Creative Ageing Zuttobi, developed in partnership with healthcare and social welfare organisations for older adults, including those in the early stages of dementia.

Inoue Tomoko
Certified Nurse in Dementia Nursing,
Dementia Medical Center, Eiju General Hospital

Inoue Tomoko studied at St. Luke’s International University, where she qualified as a Certified Nurse in Dementia Nursing. From her base at a core regional hospital, she works to support people with dementia so that they may live in a way that preserves their individuality and dignity. Her practice and proposals focus not only on the symptoms of dementia but on holistic, person-centred care. Through activities such as dementia cafés and public lectures, she collaborates with a wide range of people and organisations, working to promote new perspectives on dementia and to help build communities in which people can continue to live with a sense of security and belonging.

Kurokawa Hiroko
Director, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts
Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts

Kurokawa Hiroko specialised in art education at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts. After working at the Tokyo National Museum, she joined The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts in 1999 and has served as Director since 2021. Since then, she has focused on making art more accessible to wider audiences. Beginning with the exhibition titled Themes in Japanese Art from the Imperial Collection (2022), she has developed collaborative initiatives with the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and Tokyo University of the Arts, including the Tobira Project and a range of gallery-based learning programmes.

Tanaka Masayuki
President, The National Museum of Art, Japan
Director, The National Museum of Western Art
Director, National Center for Art Research

Tanaka Masayuki studied at the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo and at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, specialising in the history of modern Western art. As a researcher at the National Museum of Western Art, he curated major exhibitions including Matisse (2004) and Edvard Munch (2007). After serving as Associate Professor and Professor at Musashino Art University, he was appointed Director of the National Museum of Western Art in 2021. From the 2026 academic year, he is serving as President of the National Museum of Art, Japan, and Director of the National Center for Art Research. His recent publication includes One Hundred Chapters on Western Painting (Heibonsha, 2022).

Hibino Katsuhiko
President, Tokyo University of the Arts
Director, the Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu
Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto

Hibino Katsuhiko began his career as an artist in the 1980s and is widely recognised for his socially engaged art practice that connects art and society. He has developed numerous exhibitions and art projects both in Japan and internationally, and has led a wide range of community-based initiatives. He has long been engaged in education and research at Tokyo University of the Arts and has served as President since 2022. He founded the Geidai Platform of Arts and Knowledge for the Future, where he explores the potential of art in collaboration with society. He is also actively involved in collaborative initiatives with local communities, companies, and municipalities.

Photo: Shintsubo Kenshu

Kataoka Mami Director,
Mori Art Museum
Executive Advisor, National Center for Art Research

Kataoka Mami has been a curator at the Mori Art Museum since 2003 and has served as Director since 2020. She served as Director of the National Center for Art Research from 2023 to 2025 and has been Executive Advisor to the Center since 2026. Since 2025, she has also served as Director of ICA Kyoto at Kyoto University of the Arts. She has held international curatorial positions, including International Curator at the Hayward Gallery (2007–09), and has served as Artistic Director or Curator for major international art exhibitions, including Gwangju Biennale (2012) and the Sydney Biennale (2018). She has also served as a board member and President of CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art).

Yuasa Manami
Regional Arts Director, East Asia British Council

With over 30 years of experience in international cultural relations, Yuasa Manami has been a member of the Arts team of the British Council Japan since 1995, taking on the role of Head of Arts in 2005. She has led arts and culture programmes, strengthening relationships between the UK and Japanese arts and cultural sectors. In 2021, Yuasa transitioned to the role of Regional Arts Director for East Asia, where she oversees a diverse arts and culture programme across 14 countries and territories in East Asia.

Makino Anri
Project Assistant Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts

Makino Anri studied architectural design at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts and completed an MSc in Urban Regeneration at University College London (UCL). She worked for the City of Kyoto for twelve years, where she was engaged in community-led urban development projects addressing urban issues such as disaster prevention, landscape conservation, and vacant housing. Since 2025, she has been working on cultural prescribing initiatives, including municipal partnership projects and international collaborations that promote co-creation with cultural institutions and local cultural resources.