Janice Li is a London-based curator and researcher interested in the modern and contemporary design of urban life, transnational fashion, photography, and museology. She has recently curated the touring exhibition Designing Craft Crafting Design and assisted in the making of Fashioned from Nature at the V&A. Janice's passion lies within the city — the space, the people, and the clothes they wear — particularly in a transcultural and migrational context through a post-colonial lens.
With a rare combination of background in museums, history, food and nutritional sciences, and photography, she endeavours to push discourse forward through an interdisciplinary approach: to explore multisensory experience design within exhibitions as an alternative output of historical research.
Projects credited in
- 'FASHIONED FROM NATURE' at the V&AIn the growing and evermore important conversation about sustainability and how we utilise nature for fashion, we are pleased to be exhibiting a selection of our sustainable designs and newly-innovated bio materials in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s ‘Fashioned from Nature’ exhibition in London. This pioneering exhibition is a first for the UK, exploring the relationship between fashion and nature and presenting dress from 1600 to present day alongside natural history specimens.14
Work history
Research Assistant
London, United KingdomFreelance
'Fashioned From Nature' Exhibition (April 2018 - January 2019)
- Researched for exhibition material, ranging from 1600 to contemporary work, exhibition,'Fashioned From Nature' (2018), including object-based, archival, and secondary research
- Edited 200-page exhibition catalogue, 'Fashioned From Nature'
- Liaised between designers, scientists, and museum staff for exhibition planning
- Received incoming objects for exhibition and promotional purposes
- Collated press kits from exhibition content
- Prepared the walking trail guide
- Liaised with industry leaders for exhibition conference (October 2018)
- Liaised with international museums and conservators for four touring exhibitions
Research Department
- Prepared exhibition proposal for Senior Curator Mark Evans' upcoming exhibition on Renaissance watercolour in 2019
Photographs
- Catalogued incoming Royal Photographic Society's (RPS) Collection
- Conducted safety check for glass negative material of the RPS Collection
Furniture, Textiles and Fashion
- Researching on upcoming exhibition, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams
- Conducted research for external requests:
- Asia Dept's upcoming Kimono Fashion exhibition
- French embroiderer, Rébé
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Independent CuratorSelf Employed
London, United KingdomFreelance
RCA Secret 2018 (https://london.secret.rca.ac.uk/)
- Currently curating the 24th edition of RCA Secret
- Including works of Nick Park, Sir Paul Smith, Mona Hatoum, Bob and Roberta Smith, Jeremy Deller, MaggiHambling, etc.
- Stewarts RCA Secret is a fundraising exhibition of original postcard-sized artworks by internationally acclaimed artists, illustrators and designers plus up-and-coming graduates and students from the Royal College of Art.
'Designing Craft Crafting Design' Exhibition (http://dccd.show)
- Co-curated touring exhibition of an international collaborative design project, 'Designing Craft Crafting Design', at Vienna Design Week (Sept-Oct 2017), Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (Nov 2017), and Werkraum Bregenzerwald (Oct 2018)
- Worked closely with exhibition designer to adapt exhibition to multiple venues
- Liaised with the Austrian Government for funding of €50,000
- Worked with project managers on budgeting and logistics
- Gave press tours and interviews for TV, Wallpaper Magazine, Architectural Digest, Elle
Decor etc. during the events
- Acted as a design consultant and liaison between London designers and Austrian crafts
community throughout design ideation and manufacture processes
'Food Symphony' Installation (http://www.foodsymphony.org)
- Exhibited co-designed multisensory art installation, Food Symphony at Hello Tomorrow Summit - Paris (Oct 2017) and BioDesign Challenge hosted by MoMA New York (June 2017)
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Skills
- Curation
- Exhibition Design
- Project Management
- Fashion Writing
- Copywriting
- Art Curation
- Exhibition Curation
- Academic Research
- Design Research
- Fashion Research
Education
MA History of Design
- London, United Kingdom
My dissertation, 'Cultural Cross-Dressing and the City: Fashion & Photography of Elite Chinese Women in London 1919-1935', looks into the neglected discourse of elite Chinese women in London urban history. Through tactful sartorial self-representations in couture dresses and self-orientalised dresses, and studio portraitures, it investigates how fashion and photography were used as tools of rebellion against the stereotypical racial filter.
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BA HistoryUniversity of British Columbia
- Vancouver, Canada
With BSc in Food and Nutritional Science
Awards
Anthony Gardner Memorial Fund