Joshibi University - Art & Design, Japan

At a time when only men had access to higher education in Japan, Joshibi University was founded in 1900 on the principle of empowering women's independence through the arts and improving their social status by enabling them to become teachers in this domain. Thanks to its Suginami campus, located near Shinjuku in the centre of Tokyo, and the vast Sagamihara campus in Kanagawa, just south of Tokyo, having several ateliers where students can develop their own creative expression, the institution has nurtured many talents, including graphic designers, artists and teachers.

Each year, a graduate student is awarded the Joshibi Paris Prize, which gives them the opportunity to have a residency at the Cité internationale des arts in France. The prize is awarded under the patronage of the Fumiko Ōmura Foundation, which was established in 1999 by Dr Satoshi Ōmura, a biochemist laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, in order to support women artists. Thanks to new substances discovered from micro-organisms present in the soil, Dr Ōmura has cured countless patients. The name of the foundation pays tribute to his wife, Fumiko. During the Future Mythology Diaries exhibition, videos showing the works of previous winners of the prize, who are pursuing their careers in Japan, will be projected, as well as interviews with professors of Joshibi University.

Interviews: Yuko Yamaguchi, Yukio Ninagawa, Kaori Momoi
Artists in video projection: Tomoko Hijikata, Chinatsu Nomura, Michiko Hashimoto, Megumi Ishibashi, Kazue Taguchi, Maki Matsuzawa, Akiko Fujikura, Hitomi Ueoka, Haruka Otowa, Natsuko Nakamura

Press review

Artribune Visioni dal Giappone. A Treviso / September 29, 2018 (PDF)

Corriere del Veneto E alle Gallerie delle Prigioni apre la mostra sull'arte giapponese / September 12, 2018