michelle huang
MICHELLE HUANG
artist-researcher // designing experimental architectures of care // running a social R&D lab & building art installations in rural japan
ABOUT
✧ artist-researcher designing experimental interfaces that support emotional infrastructure, spatial belonging, and collective well-being
✧ my work has been featured on Business Insider, BBC, The Independent, ABC, CNET, and more.
CURRENT
✧ founder + ceo of akiya collective, a non-profit and community-driven initiative that revitalizes abandoned houses in rural Japan (akiya) into creative residencies, installations, and spaces to advance human well-being. we also operate a social R&D lab to prototype experiments for changing collective behavior, preserving public goods, and developing community infrastructure for the 21st century
✧ producing art and research; recent experiments include: a nation-wide participatory art-research experiment, spawning 100 nfc-chipped frog figurines around japan in an open quest to strangers (launching soon), executive producing a documentary series about civic life in rural japan, and fabricating wearables out of bio-yarn
PREVIOUS
✧ graduated from new york university, with study abroad experience in prague and hong kong
✧ worked in investment banking at goldman sachs (yes, i know)
✧ received emergent ventures and OSV grants
✧ collaborated on experimental gen AI research at mit media lab
✧ directed a media lab in tokyo, funded / incubated international projects focused on interactive research with emerging technologies
✧ led R&D at a blockchain infra company, interactive prototyping for decentralized identities
✧ published research reports and launched biosensor consumer apps at various healthcare orgs (product and research roles at rock health and evidation health; app launches in conjunction with apple, jnj, and the singaporean government)
✧ co-founded a neuroethics initiative with the goal of defining a set of design principles around neurotech advancements
CONTACT
✧ twitter / x: @michellehuang42
✧ email: michellehuang42 [at] gmail [dot] com
MISSION
✧ my life mission centers on scaling wonder