Purpose of establishing AAT
1) From Tokyo to the world - AAT will build a system to discover new artistic talent.
There are many art universities in Japan. And there are many young people with new and outstanding talent who aspire to become Artist even though they are not affiliated with art universities. However, even if there is talent, there is a big contradiction: there is no system for nurturing it.
Looking back, the world's art scene since the 1990s has been in an extremely active state, due in part to the globalization movement represented by the Internet. Despite this, the gap between Japan's young talents, which lacks a system that actively evaluates them and allows them to spread their wings to the world, continues to grow larger every year.
AAT will research, select, and nominate graduation exhibitions from major art universities, and will display them all at a newly opened space in Marunouchi (Gyoko-dori Ave. Underground Passage Gallery). Prizes are then awarded through public judging and public discussion by committee members (judges) consisting of critics, curators, and educators. The award is solely intended to support future production costs.
1) From Tokyo, To the World - AAT builds a system to find a new talent of art
There are many art universities and colleges in Japan. There are also many young people with excellent talents who do not belong to a school but aspire to become an artist. The great discrepancy here is that there is not an adequate system that could further cultivate these talents.
Looking back on the world since the 90's, the art scene has become extremely activated by a movement toward globalization, largely due to the advent of the internet. And yet, here in Japan there is an absence of active critics and institutions that can bring young and talented ones out into the world, and that gap is widening year by year.
AAT will perform a research on the graduation exhibitions of major art schools to select and nominate a group of artists to show their works at the brand-new exhibition space in Marunouchi called gallery at Gyoko-dori underground corridor. Award(s) will be given after an open jury and open discussion by a committee of critics, curators, and educators. The purpose of the award is simply to support the artists' production fees.
2) AAT will form a sustainable base for contemporary art that is transmitted from Tokyo to the world.
Although AAT's purpose is to support the activities of "students," our approach to quality does not stop at that level. AAT organizes and aims to create a showcase for bold and vivid new talent and new styles. Another important issue is to grow it into a unique showcase that attracts attention from around the world. At the same time, we are putting effort into archiving and building a foundation that will allow us to Access new talent at any time, and we hope to continue to provide an open forum.
2) AAT will become a consistent base of contemporary art, from Tokyo to the World.
The aim of AAT is to support 'student' activities, but its commitment to the quality of activities is much more than that. What AAT aspires to achieve is a unique showcase of dynamic, vivid, and new artistic talents, facing up to the challenge of becoming remarkable presence not only in Japan but in the entire world. AAT will also provide a persisting foundation with a substantial archive and a venue that keeps new artistic talents readily accessible to all people.
3) AAT is a project to revitalize Marunouchi through the power of art.
As a result of the above series of actions, AAT's mission is to contribute to the revitalization of Marunouchi and create opportunities for art to be positioned within the city. Examples of the Basel Art Fair and the Venice Biennale (during art fairs and biennales, exhibitions, performances, and festivals are held in various parts of the city), there is a sense that art can help revitalize a city. There are many examples of this role. On the other hand, Japan is still far from perfect. Through AAT's efforts, we hope to develop a format that positions art within the city.
3) AAT is a project to activate Marunouchi by the power of Art.
The missions of AAT as explained above can at times make a contribution to enlivening Marunouchi by fixing art in its place in town. There are a number of cases from all over the world in which art takes on the important role of energizing towns and cities, such as the Basel Art Fair and Venice Biennial (Exhibitions, performances and festivals are held all over town during art fairs and biennials), but this is not the case here in Japan. The functions of AAT will pioneer a new format to properly position the art in the city.