SANO Studio is a Kyoto-based international agency working with museums, cultural institutions, non-governmental organisations, corporations and individual clients. We provide high quality bespoke professional services in exhibition & collection management, strategic consulting, and design & creative work, with a commitment to meeting each client’s needs with care and precision.
Profile
Founded in 2025 in Kyoto, SANO Studio builds on over 20 years of experience across museum practices, strategy, craftsmanship and design. Our journey has taken us to Berlin, Hong Kong, Kathmandu, London, Paris and Xi’an before Kyoto. This process shaped our perspective, enabling us to merge global understanding with local knowledge. By relying on our services and expertise, institutions and clients can confidently navigate complex projects, realise ambitious initiatives and leave a meaningful mark.
At SANO Studio, we believe that meaningful connections between people, materials, ideas and environments create thoughtfully and carefully crafted projects. Listening closely to and collaborating with all stakeholders allows us to tailor our work to the specific context and materiality of each undertaking. Whether working with museums, cultural institutions, non-governmental organisations, corporations or individual clients, we are dedicated to bringing projects to fruition that both inspire and endure.
We are currently renovating our office, a 100-year-old traditional wooden house (kyomachiya) nestled between Kyoto’s Nishijin District and Daitokuji.
We look forward to welcoming visitors there in mid-2026.
SANO Studio assists museums, cultural institutions and private collectors in delivering exhibitions, overseeing collections and managing complex cross-border collaborations, all to the highest professional standards. We provide practical expertise with rigorous attention to detail in every project. Our services span all stages of collection and exhibition management, from planning and logistics to installation and long-term care:
• Exhibition Coordination & Project Management – Planning, scheduling, budgeting and stakeholder liaison.
• Loans Management & Logistics – Coordination of loan agreements, transport and insurance, with book-end courier support across the Asia Pacific for safe and cost-efficient oversight.
• Exhibition Registrar Services – On-site or remote support, including installation scheduling and supervision, ensuring artworks are displayed to museum standards.
• Collection Management & Care – Inventories, documentation, condition reporting and procedures for secure handling, storage and organisation of collections.
Exhibitions & Collections
SANO Studio assists museums, cultural institutions and private collectors in delivering exhibitions, overseeing collections and managing complex cross-border collaborations, all to the highest professional standards. We provide practical expertise with rigorous attention to detail in every project. Our services span all stages of collection and exhibition management, from planning and logistics to installation and long-term care: • EXHIBITION COORDINATION & PROJECT MANAGEMENT – Planning, scheduling, budgeting and stakeholder liaison. • LOANS MANAGEMENT & LOGISTICS – Coordination of loan agreements, transport and insurance, with book-end courier support across the Asia Pacific for safe and cost-efficient oversight. • EXHIBITION REGISTRAR SERVICES – On-site or remote support, including installation scheduling and supervision, ensuring artworks are displayed to museum standards. • COLLECTION MANAGEMENT & CARE – Inventories, documentation, condition reporting and procedures for secure handling, storage and organisation of collections.
Strategic Consulting
We help organisations, companies and non-profits navigate the challenges they face in today’s ever-changing and uncertain environment. Our consulting is founded on years of experience in the non-profit sector as well as extensive work across Asia and Europe with NGOs, cultural institutions and government agencies. We excel in connecting high-level strategy with grassroots practice. By working with us, clients can expect to achieve measurable outcomes while strengthening the social and environmental impact of their projects. • ORGANISATIONAL & CULTURAL STRATEGY – Aligning missions and goals with structures, processes and values to bring them to realization. • POLICY ANALYSIS & PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT – Crafting, scaling and assessing initiatives to deliver precise and measurable results. • ENVIRONMENTAL & SUSTAINABILITY PLANNING – Embedding ecological responsibility into decision-making. • STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT & COLLABORATION – Building trust and meaningful partnerships across sectors and communities.
Design & Creative Work
We approach design as a meeting point of craftsmanship, imagination and collaboration. From objects to interiors, we create works rooted in sustainability that embrace usability, honour heritage and foster human connection. We bring people and skills together to explore natural materials and unique spaces, breathing life into our clients’ ideas. • BESPOKE FURNITURE DESIGN & MAKING – Solid wood pieces crafted with time-proven techniques that ensure durability and material integrity. • INTERIOR DESIGN & 3D VISUALISATION – From concept development to detailed renderings, shaping interiors that balance functionality and atmosphere. • COLLABORATIVE COMMISSIONS & CRAFT PROJECTS – Partnering with artisans and clients to realise distinctive, cross-disciplinary works. • CREATIVE EXCHANGE & EDUCATION – Offering spaces for workshops, dialogue and shared learning in the spirit of creativity.
Services
SANO Studio is built on passion and curiosity – a true Herzensprojekt. We bring together multiple disciplines reflecting the experiences, people and places that have shaped our journey. At the core is a commitment to rigor and creativity. We look forward to translating this into inspiring projects and collaborations with you.
Our Team
Pauline Kunze-Le Moigne, Founder | Director
Pauline drives all museum and exhibition engagements at SANO Studio, bringing extensive experience in exhibition coordination, loan logistics and collection management. She has worked with Tai Kwun and M+ (both Hong Kong), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and the Musée Guimet (Paris) and collaborated with UN-Habitat in Nepal. She holds a Master’s in Museum Studies and Art History from École du Louvre.
Clemens Kunze, Founder | Director
Clemens sets the creative direction and handles the strategic consulting at SANO Studio. Clemens has worked at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD, Kathmandu) as well as at the Heinrich Böll Stiftung (Berlin) and its Hong Kong office, where he served as deputy director. He was educated at SOAS (London) and Freie Universität (Berlin). Clemens is also a trained carpenter who loves to put his ideas and hands-on skills to work by crafting objects and interiors.