Residency at Akiyoshidai

Akiyoshidai International Art Village in Japan’s Yamaguchi prefecture is calling for applications for a 70-day residency to be held from January to March of 2011.

Located next to a limestone-studded national park that is home to Japan’s largest cave, the Art Village was founded in 1998 as a multidisciplinary space with facilities for both visual and performance art, including music, dance and theater. But don’t let that fool you—they’ll actually accept applications from practitioners working in every field from fashion to architecture to literature to music composition.

The only real requirement is that you must be a “young or emerging” artist (under 40) and able to communicate in English. Two artists of any nationality living outside Japan will be selected, along with one Japanese artist living either in Japan or abroad. They’ll pay for your flight and insurance, plus cover production costs of up to around 230,000 yen, and throw in daily stipend of 2,800 yen. Not heaps, but there’s probably nowhere to spend your money out there anyway, so never mind.

Get more info and all the forms here and get your applications in by July 31.

TWS looking for exhibition proposals

Tokyo Wonder Site is calling for artists and aspiring curators to submit proposals for a funded exhibition to be held at TWS Hongo (near Suidobashi Station on the Chuo and Sobu lines). Selected applicants will receive exhibition space sometime around March 2011, a payment of 400,000 yen towards costs, and promotional support. Entry is restricted to artists and curators under the age of 40. Applicants must submit a CV, entry form, outline of proposal and a budget. There is a small entry fee of 2,000 and entries must be received by August 21.

And those nice people at TWS will even be holding a special information session sometime in early July to give prospective applicants a bit of a hand in designing their proposals.

Entries will be judged by panel of five, including Mami Kataoka, chief curator of the Mori Art Museum, so even if you don’t score, it’s a good chance to get on the radar of the movers and shakers of the Tokyo contemporary art scene.

Download all the forms here and tell 'em text tokyo sent you!

New arts complex opens in Akihabara

Next month sees the full opening of a new art center in Tokyo’s “Electric Town” district of Akihabara. Previously a junior high school, the buildings that make up the new 3331 Arts Chiyoda complex have been renovated to accommodate “a range of different project and exhibition spaces,” not to mention offices, a café, lounge, rooftop garden allotments and more. In addition, a number of the former classrooms have been leased to all sorts of creative types, NPOs and other organizations, making for a fairly lively vibe. Although the gallery space has been open since March this year, the official opening of the whole site will be held on Saturday, June 26 and will consist of an exhibition, opening party and talks, with a series of further events to begin from the following day. See here for more details.

3331 Arts Chiyoda is also calling for applications for its inaugural artist-in-residence program, which is basically a user-pays deal that, at 500,000 to 600,000 yen for one month seems a little steep to us, but hey, if you’re dying to have an exhibition in Tokyo and have got the cash lying around, why not? Check out what’s on offer and download the application form here.

Artist-in-residence program in Kyoto calling for applicants

The Kyoto Art Center is now accepting applications for its 2011 artist-in-residence program. The program is open to both artists and researchers of any age, nationality or discipline and to groups as well as individuals, but you must have a specific reason for seeking to stay in Kyoto, as opposed to some other part of Japan.

A spot of up to three months can be requested for anytime between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012. The residency basically consists of accommodation, studio space and an allowance of 200,000 yen to cover production/research costs. Travel and living expenses are not covered. Applications are due by June 30, 2010. More details and the application form can be found here. (Click where it says "ダウンロード OPEN" for the form.)

Bill and Ted would be proud

The Japan Mint is offering a 500,000 yen prize for the "Most Excellent Work" submitted for its International Coin Design Competition. Other prizes include the "Excellent Work" prize (200,000 yen) and student prizes (50,000 yen), while the winning entries of the top two prizes will be exhibited at the (we guess totally prestigious and wildly exciting) Tokyo International Coin Convention in May 2011. Entries for the general and student categories must be in by August 31 and September 15, 2010, respectively.

Upcoming Artist-in-Residence Programs in Tokyo and Aomori

Tokyo Wonder Site and Aomori Contemporary Art Centre are both calling for applications for upcoming artist-in-residence programs.

TWS’s International Creator Residency program, a three-month residency from January to March 2011, is open to practitioners, researchers and curators working in a broad range of fields encompassing visual art, architecture, design, video, music and performing arts. Based in Tokyo’s happening Aoyama district, the two creators selected will be expected to “perform new creative activities based on … subjects which are [at the] core of our projects such as ‘Art and Environment,’ ‘Cultural diversity and the activities of New Art Centres’ or ‘Possibilities of collaboration.’” The deadline for applications is May 31, 2010. Download the application package here.

Although perched way up on the northern tip of Japan’s main island of Honshu, Aomori Contemporary Art Centre’s location far from the country’s major metropolitan hubs hasn’t seemed to do it any harm. The Centre itself was designed by renowned architect Tadao Ando and its buildings are described intriguingly on the Centre’s website as being “buried deep inside the surrounding forest.” The Japan Foundation’s Japanese Artist-in-Residency website gives a nice outline of the Centre, its programs and the local area.

ACAC’s 2010 autumn residency is based on the theme of “surprise” or “wonder” (“bikkuri” in Japanese) and the five artists selected will be expected to address the theme in the group exhibition held at the end of the roughly two-month period, which starts September 13 and finishes November 26 this year. Applications must be received by May 28, 2010. The application guidelines and form can be downloaded here.

art, art, art

ART FAIR TOKYO, Japan’s largest art fair, is on again this weekend at Tokyo International Forum in Marunouchi. This year, 138 galleries will be displaying around 3,000 artworks, many of which will be available for sale. If that isn’t enough to wear you out, there are also a couple of seminars and some guided tours. The excitement kicks off tonight with a special guest/press preview and continues for the next three days, ending on Sunday the 4th. Tickets are 1,200 yen pre-purchase or 1,500 yen at the door. Get more information here.

Also this weekend is a new event with the slightly misleading moniker ART FAIR FREE. Although considerably smaller than ART FAIR TOKYO, this group exhibition offers a fun alternative to the earnest sales-driven atmosphere of its bigger, much sweatier cousin. Part silent auction, part swap meet, ART FAIR FREE gives the financially challenged a chance to get in on the game by way of a barter system in which would-be buyers offer stuff for art. Not to mention simultaneously doing away with that pesky “first-in-best-dressed” rule AND giving you the chance to clean out your closet.

Here’s how it works: 55 artists will contribute works. If you spot one you really, desperately can’t live without, you can request a special (yes, special) email address where you can write to the artist, proposing a trade. If the artist wants what you’re offering more than any of the other offers they receive, you get the artwork and the artist gets that brand new exercise machine you bought two years ago and still haven’t unwrapped.

ART FAIR FREE will be held at VACANT in Harajuku from Friday, April 2 to Sunday, April 4. The successful bidders will be announced at a party on Sunday night. Entry to the exhibition is 1,000 yen. Click here for more.