A 2023 United States Artist Fellow, Ayako Kato is a kinetic philosopher/poet who has been described as, “moving everyday sculptures, artfully cast in naturalness” (Luzerner Zeitung, Switzerland). Founded in 1998, Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape has created and presented thirty-two full-evening ensemble works, seventeen duets, thirty-four solos, and 142 long-form (30 - 60 minutes) dance and music ensembles in collaborations with 70 musicians and composers. Keeping "Follow nature, be one with nature ..." by haiku poet Bashō as a seminal mantra, Ayako’s work is performed on traditional stages and at site-specific locations, including historic landmarks and in nature. In 2022, she toured Europe with cellist Tomeka Reid, violist Frantz Loriot, and saxophonist Sebastian Strinning, and also premiered "LUCA―the Last Universal Common Ancestor/Res Communis: ETHOS Episode III," a nature-walk style dance and music installation throughout the 27 acre land at Chicago’s Palmisano Park, a former quarry. During the pandemic, Ayoko’s first dance film, "Just being," received a 2020 Best of Dance by See Chicago Dance. She has received the 2022 Esteemed Artist Award from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; the 2021 Artist Fellowship Award in Choreography by the Illinois Arts Council; a 3Arts Residency Fellowship at Camargo Foundation, France and Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA; a 3Arts Award in Dance; 2021 and 2022 High Concept Labs Fellowships, Chicago, IL; the Trillium Arts 2021 ACE Fellowship in Dance, Best of Dance by the Chicago Tribune, a Links Hall Co-MISSION Fellowship, a 2016 Meier Achievement Award, and a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Award. Her work has been funded by the Reva & David Logan Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Japan Foundation, The Puffin Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, Experimental Sound Studio, and Links Hall.

Ayako has studied dance anatomy under Irene Dowd since 2007. In addition to classical ballet and modern dance, she also studied Tai Chi, Noh Theater, and Butoh with one of the founders, master Kazuo Ohno. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a certificate from the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance of Wesleyan University.