Dr. Thomas Oberender
【Artistic and Managing Director of Berliner Festspiele】

Dr. Thomas Oberender, who was born in Jena in 1966, was appointed managing director of the Berliner Festspiele in 2012. From 2006 to 2011, he was theatre director at the Salzburg Festival. In 2005-06, he was head dramaturg and co-director of the Schauspielhaus Zürich and, from 2000 to 2005, head dramaturge and member of the artistic direction at the Schauspielhaus Bochum. From 1988 to 2000, Oberender lived in Berlin, where he earned a doctorate at Humboldt Universität in 1999. In 1997, he was a co-founder of the author’s Association Theater Neuen Typs (Theater of a New Kind), which is dedicated to the dissemination of theatre texts by German-speaking authors. He has written and translated plays, essays, theatre and literature criticism, and has realized projects for Expo 2000, the Ruhrtriennale (2004 and 2005), and the European Cultural Capital project “Ruhr 2010.” He has published numerous books.

Eriko Osaka
【Director of Yokohama Art Museum】

Born in Tokyo, received B.F.A. from Gakushuin University. She has organized and curated many international exhibitions of contemporary art while at the Japan Foundation and ICA, Nagoya. She worked at the Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito as senior curator (1994-1997) and artistic director (1997-2006) and Mori Art Museum as artistic director (2007-2009), before assuming her position as director of Yokohama Art Museum in 2009. She has numerous experiences in working for international exhibition, as co-curator for the Japan section of the 3rd Asian Pacific Triennial (1999), commissioner for the Japan Pavilion in the 49th Venice Biennale (2001), director general in the 4th Yokohama Triennale(2011), Chairperson, Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale(2014).

Louise Jeffreys
【Director of Arts, Barbican Centre】

Louise Jeffreys is responsible for the formulation, implementation and delivery of the Barbican’s artistic programme and strategic vision. Jeffreys was previously Head of Theatre and Arts Projects at the Centre, running the　newly-created bite (Barbican International Theatre Events) from 1999. bite became one of London’s most innovative artistic programmes, bringing leading international performers to the UK and co-commissioning some of the most influential artists and productions of the last decade. Prior to the Barbican, Jeffreys’ previous roles include Administrative Director at the Nottingham Playhouse, Head of Production at Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, and Technical Director at the English National Opera.

Mihye Lim
【Director, Arts in Education, Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture】

Born in Seoul, Mihye Lim was the first producer and programmer for ARKO Arts Theater and has been active in diverse fields of arts administration from festivals and arts education to cultural strategy planning at Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture(SFAC), the leading executive body implementing the cultural policies of Seoul Metropolitan Government. A graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University in NYC with an MA in Arts Administration, she is currently Director of the Arts in Education and Creative Engagement with the Arts Program at SFAC. Based on her own experiences both as musician and arts administrator, her current interests are focused on integrating arts as a daily work of life, and developing creative learning methodologies to enhance cultural empowerment of the city.

Yusuke Hashimoto
【Program Director, ROHM Theatre Kyoto/ KYOTO EXPERIMENT】

Hashimoto began working in the field of theatre in 1997 while being a student at Kyoto University. In 2003, he founded Hashimoto Arts Management Office. His work includes company management for contemporary theatre and dance, and planning and producing for the “Theatre Project” at Kyoto Art Center. He established KYOTO EXPERIMENT (Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival) in 2010, and has been its Program Director. Since 2013, Chairperson of Open Network for Performing Arts Management (ON-PAM). Since January 2014, Program Director of ROHM Theatre Kyoto.

Dr. Konrad Schmidt-Werthern
【Head of the Department of Culture in the Senate Chancellery in Berlin】

Born in 1973 in Bonn, Dr. Konrad Schmidt-Werthern today heads the Department of Culture in the Senate Chancellery in Berlin under the governing Mayor, Klaus Wowereit. Following studies in Law in Munich and Freiburg, Schmidt-Werthern received a doctorate in law (dr. jur.) in 2003. Early in his career, Schmidt-Werthern worked for the major German Newspapers Die Zeit and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. In 2004, Dr. Konrad Schmidt-Werthern joined the Cultural Administration of the Berlin Senate as senior advisor. From 2007 to 2012, Dr. Konrad Schmidt-Werthern served as Director of the Cultural Office for the City of Cologne, after which he returned to Berlin for his current position. Since 2010, he is visiting lecturer at the Center for International Arts Management (CIAM). Dr. Konrad Schmidt-Werthern has lived abroad in Paris and Hanoi, speaks English and French, and has retained his ability to order soup in Vietnamese.

Masao Katayama
【Managing Director of the Saison Foundation, Member of Specialist Committee for Cultural Policy, Tokyo Council for the Arts】

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1958. Leaving his post with Seibu Department Stores, he was appointed as Secretary General of the Saison Foundation in 1989. In 2003 he moved into his current position. He researched the evaluation of foundations as a fellow of Johns Hopkins University in 1994. Currently he is a Specially Appointed Professor of the Graduate School of Social Design Studies, Rikkyo University, Member of Specialist Committee for Cultural Policy, Tokyo Council for the Arts, a board member of Arts Council Tokyo, a member of the Management Committee of the Civil Society Initiative Fund, a member of the Planning and Management Committee of Tokyo Wonder Site, and a board member of the Japan Association of Charitable Organizations (JACO), the Japan Foundation Center (JFC) and the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts. He is also Auditor of Kunitachi Gakuen. He has contributed to titles including NPO Kiso Koza (NPO Foundation Course), Programme Officer and Minkan Josei Inobeishon (Innovation in Charitable Organizations).

Katsunori Miyoshi
【Director General of Arts Council Tokyo,the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture】

Katsunori Miyoshi was born in Kagawa Prefecture in 1953. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tokyo. He joined the Ministry of Home Affairs (currently the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), where he was involved in formulating and implementing systems relating to administrative and financial affairs and regional policy for national and local governments. During his time at the ministry he has also served as director of the Culture Promotion Division, Bureau of Citizens and Cultural Affairs of Tokyo Metropolitan Government, as professor at the Graduate School of Management of Kagawa University, and as a member of the Study Group on Culture-based Regional Vitalization , among other positions. In 2012, upon the establishment of Arts Council Tokyo, which was launched with the objectives of promoting artistic and cultural creative endeavors and further developing Tokyo’s cultural appeal, he was appointed director general of the organization. He currently serves as an extraordinary member of the Council for Cultural Affairs , and as a member of the Cultural Policy Committee, which are both organizations of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan. He is also a specially-appointed professor at the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the School of Architecture of Kogakuin University.