Emily's doctoral project analyses the live art of Takako Saitō (1929-2025) and its intersection with education and public engagement, tracing the evolution of her practice from early postwar Japan to contemporary Germany. Her interdisciplinary methodology combines art historical research, oral histories, expanded feminist theory, and embodied learning.  

Alongside her PhD, Emily works as a researcher and archivist for Saitō's personal archive (Düsseldorf), where she is preparing the expansive collection for public access. As part of this work she is compiling Saitō's self-documentation into an edited volume. She curated a display of Saitō's performance ephemera at the ECA Library, and developed a series of complementary reenactment workshops drawn from these archival fragments. In 2025 Emily was named an Ishibashi Foundation fellow in Japanese Art by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC).

Prior to commencing her doctoral research Emily received her undergraduate MA from the University of Edinburgh in 2018. She received her postgraduate double MA in East Asian Art History and Japanese from SOAS (University of London) in 2023. Between her undergraduate and postgraduate studies Emily worked full-time as a teacher and continues to facilitate arts related workshops for all ages.