Winding Paths to Success

3Purpose

Two broad mental approaches exist when you start building a career; one is purpose‐driven—you already know what you need to accomplish—and the other is process‐driven—you figure out the meaning of your work on the fly. Although many of us belong to the latter category and feebly attempt to answer the ultimate question through years of trials and errors, there are an enviable few who fall into the former—Mami Kataoka is one of them.

Her father instilled a sense of purpose in her that she was on this earth to achieve something. Young Kataoka marveled at the power of art to change society by speaking to people's hearts and resolved to dedicate her life to this end. With such a calling, she never felt compelled to compare her work with other people, only to measure against the yardstick of her own satisfaction. She regards the fame and status, certainly associated with her role as director of the Mori Art Museum, only as tools to achieve a larger good.

Diversity is a keyword that touches her career on many dimensions. First, the international art world itself is changing, pivoting from its male‐dominant and Western‐centric viewpoint to include more diverse perspectives. That Kataoka is one of the few women directors of a major museum around the world today is a testimony of both progress and work unfinished. Then, through her curation and directorship, Kataoka consciously lifts formerly lesser known Asian artists, including those who are Japanese and female, into the ...