Naomi Szeto
Naomi Szeto is a Hong Kong author, editor and former museum curator whose work explores the histories held in everyday objects. At the Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Heritage Museum, she brought clothing, traditional crafts, furniture and local customs into exhibitions and publications that connect the past with people’s lives.
Her books include Dress in Hong Kong, Of Hearts & Hands and A Day in Time. She has also shared her museum practice through public talks and professional education, including speaking appearances at Harvard University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Career highlights
Hong Kong Museum of History
Recording the rituals of everyday life
The catalogue record for Local Traditional Chinese Wedding names Naomi among the publication’s contributors, placing her among the museum’s studies of social custom.
WorldCat · Exhibition catalogue (opens in a new tab)
Local Traditional Chinese Wedding. Cover from the archive’s 1986 catalogue record.
Cover: Hong Kong Museum of History / Urban Council; image via esea contemporary Archive. (opens in a new tab)Folk history · Dress · Historical sources
Reading a culture through its objects
Law Uk Folk Museum and Children of the Gods connect local buildings with the symbolism of clothing. Naomi co-edited the former with Joseph Ting and co-authored the latter with Valery Garrett, contributing to a shared record of material culture.
CiNii · Library catalogue (opens in a new tab)
Children of the Gods, 1990 cover.
Cover: Hong Kong Museum of History / Urban Council; scan supplied by Orchid Press via AbeBooks/ZVAB. (opens in a new tab)Dress in Hong Kong
A century of change, stitched into clothing
Dress in Hong Kong: A Century of Change and Customs traces the changing language of clothing. Naomi’s study became a reference for scholarship on Chinese dress, including an Art Institute of Chicago publication.
Art Institute of Chicago · p. 36; note 61, p. 103 (opens in a new tab)
Dress in Hong Kong, 1992 cover.
Cover: Hong Kong Museum of History / Urban Council; image from growingfun on Carousell. (opens in a new tab)Of Hearts & Hands
Preserving the knowledge of working hands
Naomi’s account of Hong Kong’s traditional trades and crafts documents the skills and occupations embedded in everyday life. Published through the Urban Council, the book grew from the Hong Kong Museum of History’s exhibition work.
Hong Kong Public Libraries (opens in a new tab)
Of Hearts & Hands, catalogue cover.
Cover: Hong Kong Museum of History / Urban Council; image reproduced by Hong Kong Teaching Resources Centre. (opens in a new tab)Hong Kong Museum of History
Bringing local history into public conversation
As Curator for Exhibition and Research, Naomi presented “Aberdeen Story” at a public workshop on 26 October 2005. The Tourism Commission’s subsequent report records her contribution to thinking about local history and place.
Tourism Commission · Consultation report, p. 3 (opens in a new tab)
Aberdeen Harbour, Hong Kong, photographed in July 2005.
Photo: maveric2003. Resized. (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab)Shakespeare Birthplace Trust · United Kingdom
An object’s journey begins with curiosity
Naomi visited the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and requested the Bidford Chair for Hong Kong. The resulting 2014 journey was the chair’s first loan since its acquisition by the Trust in 1865. Its reputed association with Shakespeare is part of its story, rather than a proven historical fact.
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (opens in a new tab)
The Bidford Chair in Hong Kong in 2014, following Naomi’s 2013 loan request.
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust; photograph accompanying Paul Taylor’s 2014 account. Individual photographer uncredited. (opens in a new tab)Hong Kong Heritage Museum
The extraordinary in the ordinary
More than 130 chairs, with the Palace Museum as joint presenter and eight overseas partners, came together to explore power, design and daily life. Naomi encouraged visitors to look more closely at familiar things. The exhibition ran from 7 June to 15 September 2014.
Hong Kong Government News (opens in a new tab)
The Extraordinary in the Ordinary, 2014 catalogue cover.
Cover: Hong Kong Heritage Museum / Leisure and Cultural Services Department. (opens in a new tab)The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Sharing the practice of public history
At CUHK’s Museum Professionals Training Workshop, Naomi spoke on art and history education at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. The programme identifies her as Curator (Collection/Service), connecting her museum practice with professional learning.
CUHK Art Museum · 2015 workshop (opens in a new tab)
The 2015 workshop’s study visit to Taipei.
Photo: CUHK Institute of Chinese Studies. (opens in a new tab)Fascination and Affinity
Two palaces, a wider cultural conversation
Fascination and Affinity: The Louvre and the Forbidden City brings European and Chinese histories into conversation. Published by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, it reflects the international scope of Naomi’s museum writing.
Hong Kong Heritage Museum (opens in a new tab)
Fascination and Affinity, 2017 cover.
Hong Kong Heritage Museum / Leisure and Cultural Services Department; underlying pictured collection objects retain their respective credits. (opens in a new tab)A Day in Time: 1935 Hong Kong
One day. A hundred windows into the past.
Naomi turned material culture into historical storytelling with A Day in Time, illustrated by May Lu. Set on 12 December 1935, the novella links 100 groups of period objects to the lives and places of pre-war Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Heritage Museum (opens in a new tab)
A Day in Time, 2019 cover. Illustration by May Lu.
Hong Kong Heritage Museum / Leisure and Cultural Services Department; illustration by May Lu (陸梅). (opens in a new tab)Writing on dress and illustration
The conversation continues
In a foreword to Lu Mei’s 旗袍時尚情畫, Naomi reflects on their creative work together and the making of A Day in Time. Signed as a former Hong Kong Heritage Museum curator, the text carries her voice into another chapter of cultural storytelling.
TAAZE · Published foreword (opens in a new tab)
旗袍時尚情畫 by Lu Mei, 2023 cover. Includes Naomi’s foreword.
Joint Publishing (Hong Kong); artwork by Lu Mei (陸梅); cover image hosted by Sanmin Books. (opens in a new tab)They might just discover something extraordinary.
On looking more closely at everyday objects (opens in a new tab)