Meet the Team

Kakilang has an innovative artist-led leadership model that puts creative people in the driving seat, enabling us to access a wide range of creative ideas, inspiration and art forms and ensures that all decision making is artistically-centred. This is a new model that challenges traditional practice that we hope will inspire others. The Artistic/Associate Artistic Directors from diverse creative backgrounds work to push artistic boundaries and curate the biannual cross-artform festival.

Howl Cheng-Po Yuan

Artistic Director and Co-CEO
Howl (he/him) is a cultural worker and performance maker. With the experiences in research and practice, Howl’s artworks focus on transcultural identity, mobility, space/place/site, and decolonised discourse. Howl’s works and projects span different formats but are primarily performance-based, presented in numerous venues and festivals.
Alongside his artistic practices, Howl also has rich curatorial experience to facilitate transcultural arts exchange such as Artists Home Swap and championing marginalised voices such as Migration Matters Festival, which was recognised with the Sheffield Community Award.
https://howlyuan.com/
Ruth Holdsworth

Executive Director and Co-CEO
Ruth (she/her) began her journey with the organisation (then Chinese Arts Now) as Senior Producer, leading on commissioning and artist development, before moving on in 2021.
Ruth has since held key leadership roles across the arts, including Chief Executive of Chisenhale Dance Space, Interim Director of the Live Art Development Agency (LADA), Director of Producing at National Theatre Wales, and Head of Programme & Partnerships for IMPERMANENCE & The Mount Without.
She holds a practice-based PhD in Curating Risk from the University of Bristol and Arnolfini (2011).
Joey Jepps

Associate Artistic Director/General Manager
Joey (he/him) is a mixed Japanese/British theatre practitioner, joining Kakilang as General Manager. He previously worked as Production Coordinator for London Theatre Company, working across 8 productions at the Bridge Theatre, including Guys & Dolls.
Joey is also an associate artist with Undone Theatre, where he is currently developing The Butterfly Project, a new documentary-theatre piece using opera & autobiography to explore diasporic identity & racial (mis)representation.
Liang-Jung Chen

Associate Artistic Director (Visual Arts)
Liang-Jung Chen (she/they) is an artist whose hybrid practice spans installation, moving image, live performance, and curatorial work, exploring tensions in everyday interactions. She received a Dezeen Award (2019) and was shortlisted for the East London Art Prize (2025).
Founder of Hardware Archive, a research project on industrial artefacts, her recent highlights include a 2024 V&A commission and a solo show at the Museum of the Home in 2027. She is represented by Vasto Gallery, Barcelona.
www.liangjungchen.com
www.hardwarearchive.org
Sandy Wan

Head of Marketing & Audience Development
Sandy (she/her), a British Chinese marketing professional, has over 20 years’ experience, primarily in B2B, with a recent focus on the arts and culture sector. As a freelance Marketing Outreach Officer at Southbank Centre, she spent three years promoting the "China Changing Festival," showcasing East Asian talent and leading campaigns to engage ESEA communities across London and beyond, fostering greater inclusivity in the arts.
Outside of work, Sandy is mum to two teenagers, a chihuahua dog mum, and Chair at Redbridge Primary School.
Katrina Man

Arts & Community Producer
Katrina (she/her) is a curator and arts producer specialising in contemporary art. She works part-time at Kakilang, focusing on Southeast and East Asian creatives and communities, and is passionate about making the arts more inclusive and sustainable.