Joe Nickols (they/them) is an internationally renowned curator, with a portfolio of exhibitions, lectures and projects that continue to impact and engage with the current cultural landscape. Joe fuses academic knowledge with a contemporary lens to create dynamic projects. 

Currently a curator in the Japan section at the British Museum, Joe works on the Samurai exhibition (5th February - 28th June 2026) and curates rotations in the Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries. Joe concurrently works on a PhD project exploring 1920s Japanese avantgarde artists, for which Joe was named as the Sasakawa Scholar for 2023/24 by the The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.

Joe is constantly collaborating with artists and institutions to shine a light on the power of culture and art to better society. Curating exhibitions that have consistently proved popular with public audiences. Outside of curation, Joe is a passionate advocate for art education, lecturing at conferences and universities around the world. 

In May 2023, Joe launched NCLUSIV WORLD, a platform dedicated to celebrating queer and trans arts and culture. Joe developed graphics for empowering apparel as well as producing the NCLUSIV WORLD podcast. Joe has interviewed a number of celebrated queer creatives and pioneers.