In order to help foster artists as future leaders of the art world in Japan, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has implemented the Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists(*), providing an opportunity for budding artists to study at universities and art organizations abroad since 1967. The program will soon celebrate its half-century anniversary. The “DOMANI: The Art of Tomorrow” exhibition, was started in 1998 to present the program's achievements and commemorates its 19th anniversary this year.
In addition to the large-scale group exhibition that makes full use of the high-ceiling space of the National Art Center in Tokyo, we launched the “DOMANI PLUS” exhibition, a smaller exhibition which increased its level of curation in 2015. These two projects are designed as the second stage of the development program for upcoming artists run by the Agency. In other words both projects aim to be good opportunities to present talented artists, who have already been sent to study abroad as the first stage of the development program, to the Japanese art scene.
The 19th DOMANI Exhibition will focus on showcasing the work of these fresh artists who have completed their overseas study on the program relatively recently. Making use of the rich space in the National Art Center, Tokyo, the lineup of artists will be varied in terms of material and expression, ranging from painting to photography, video, animation, installation, ceramics, media art, and so on. Their study countries are also not restricted in Europe and North America, but also spread widely across Asia and the Southern Hemisphere. Under the loose theme of “re_consider Japan”, this will be a valuable opportunity to re-consider Japan with "2020" fast-approaching. We hope this will be a good place to encounter talented artists who will lead the Japanese art scene in the 2020s.