Project outline
“Art for the Next Decade” is a three-year project exploring directions and modes for art in the near future.

At a time when the environment surrounding Japan is undergoing major transformation alongside changes in the global political and economic climate, and given current conditions in which the roles and needs of art in society are diversifying and subject to much experimentation, we discuss and verify the possibilities for artistic expression over the next ten years using complex techniques including a lecture series, exhibitions and workshops.

【First year】
In the first year we invited artists, critics, researchers, curators and the like at the vanguard of art practice to discuss and verify transitions in artistic expression since the beginning of the 21st century, and the possibilities for artistic expression over the coming ten years.

Special lecturers
Takeshi Okada (cognitive science), Taguchi Kaori (conservation science), Osamu Sakura (history of science), Jason Waite (curator), Jacob Lillemose (curator), Laurel Ptak (curator), UJINO, Chim↑Pom (Ryuta Ushiro and Yasutaka Hayashi), Tatzu Nishi, yang02, Kenichi Kondo, Yoshitaka Mouri, Fumihiko Sumitomo, Kenji Kubota

【Second year】
In the project’s second year, we further discussed the possibilities for creative expression over the next ten years with overseas curators (Jason Waite, Margarida Mendes), based on the lecture series and symposium discussion of “Art for the Next Decade” implemented in the first year. We also held an exhibition, “The Sleepless Alliance – Art for the Next Decade,” at an Oxford University art gallery. Twelve Japanese and overseas artists were interviewed for the exhibition on the subject of art in ten years’ time, and five artists’ works were displayed along with footage from the interviews.

Participating artists
Helene Kazan、 Larry Achiampong、Adelota Husni-bey、Pil and Galia Kolectiv、Christian Nyampeta、Ayesha Hameed、Ahmet Ögüt、Melika Ngombe Kolongo、Ho Rui An, Hikaru Fujii, Kyun-chome, Rintaro Fuse, Bontaro Dokuyama, Takuro Kotaka
Curators
Jason Waite, Margarida Mendes, Kenji Kubota

【Third year】
The final year of the project, “Art for the Next Decade” organized an exhibition and published documentation as a three-year culmination.
The documentation was published for the overview of the three-year activity, and curators and artists involved in each year’s project wrote essays and work descriptions, and explain the purpose of the project in an easy-to-understand manner. The exhibition “Marginalia”, with Rintaro Fuse as a curator, contained many suggestions about the coexistence of humans and machines that will come in the near future, and the resulting changes in human consciousness and spirit.

[Exhibition]
Title: Marginalia
Date: February 22 – March 21, 2020
Venue: SNOW Contemporary (Minato city, Tokyo)
Curation: Rintaro Fuse
Participating artists: Kazumichi Komatsu, Sen Takahashi, Aoi Nakamura, Goro Murayama, and Rintaro Fuse