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With the application period having ended on September 10th, we are pleased to announce the selection of the three artists that have been invited to participate in “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2016.” This program, organized and run once again this year by the Japan Image Council on behalf of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, gives talented creators from other countries the opportunity to pursue their art while interacting with the Japanese animation community. We have established this program with the aim to promote further international exchange in the fields of media art, to encourage artists within our country through this event, and to stimulate creators to put forth outstanding works of animation.
This year, we have invited animation creators between the ages of 20 and 35 from all over the world to apply for this program between July 1st and September 10th, and in response, we received 199 applications from 54 countries. Three applicants were selected to participate in the program after a process involving a preparatory selection meeting, a first selection committee meeting, and a second and final selection committee meeting. These artists will spend 70 days living in Tokyo from January 7th to March 17th, 2016, during which time they will each produce a new work of art while participating in various programs including training sessions, screenings, visits to studios and the ateliers of animation artists, and exchanges with educational institutions.
　

Invited Artists (Gender/Nationality/Age*) 　As of January 7th, 2016
Jacky DE GROEN (Female / Belgium / 23)
Johan RIJPMA (Male / Netherlands / 31)
Lilian VAZQUEZ (Female / Mexico / 35)

*For additional information, please contact Japan Image Council
Telephone: +81-3-6670-5676 Fax: +81-3-5466-0054 Website: http://japic.jp/eng/

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Residents’ Profile

Jacky DE GROEN (Female / Belguim / 23)

Born in 1992. Graduated from KASK School of Arts in Ghent in 2014. ‘Dieperik’ (13) was screened in the 2014 Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, and ‘Eclipse’ (14) was screened in the 2015 Ottawa International Animation Film Festival.
Website: www.eenoogkoning.be

Works:
‘Dieperik’ 2013
‘Eclipse’ 2014

Project Proposal
‘Hat Trick’: A hand-drawn 2D animation about the changing relationship between a magician and a rabbit through their preforming of the well-known ‘rabbit-in-the-hat’ trick. This will be an experimental work that will challenge the boundaries of animation as a medium, by incorporating transformation, dynamic usage of space, loops, zooms, and other methods.

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Johan RIJPMA（Male / Netherlands / 31）

Born in 1984. Obtained Master of Arts degree at the Utrecht School of the Arts in 2011. ‘Tape Generations’ (11) has won the Special Experimental Award at the 2013 Disposable Film Festival in San Francisco. ‘Descent’ (14) has won an Honorary Mention at the Pris Ars Electronica.
Website：www.johanrijpma.nl

Works:
‘Grow’, ‘Tiles’ 2009
‘8 Frame Grid’ 2010
‘Tape Generations’ 2011
‘Division’, ‘Primary Expansion’ 2012
‘Refreshment’, ‘Descent’ 2014

Project Proposal
Title not yet decided: An experimental stop-motion animation project that will be an attempt at observing natural physics and their relations between different materials like paper and wood. The project will incorporate a zooming technique that will create a surreal visual effect.

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Lilian VAZQUEZ（Female / Mexico / 35）

Born in 1980. Studied journalism in Mexico, and later completed a master’s degree in Film and Audiovisual Studies at the University of Paris III-Sorbonne Nouvelle. Started to create stop-motion animation works from 2008. ‘Number Nine’ (11) has been screened at the 2013 Animatica International Animation Festival, and ‘Sofia’ (14) was screened at the 2015 Animated Dreams Festival, amongst other international screenings.
Website：lilianvazquez.net

Works:
‘Number Nine’ 2012
‘Practice’ 2012
‘Sofia’ 2015

Project Proposal
‘Present is All We Have’: A short animation film inspired by traditional Japanese arts and handcraft, created by using various kinds of paper, fabric, textures, and digital effects.

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Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2015” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2014” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2012-2013” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2011-2012” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2010-2011” >>

This program’s application entry has closed on September 10th.

The selected finalists will be announced in the middle of November.

Thank you for applying and we wish you all the best for your animation!

1. Aims of the project

This project, organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (Bunka-cho), is an artist in residence program that provides three outstanding young animation artists from around the world with an opportunity to come to Tokyo and create new works while directly interacting with Japanese animation culture. It aims to promote both the creation of excellent works of animation and a better understanding of Japanese culture.
This program’s application entry has closed on September 10th. The selected finalists will be announced in the middle of November. Thank you for applying and we wish you all the best for your animation!

[Read more...]

Thank you for your interests in Animation Artist in Residence program

All submitted materials must be received by online by September 10th!

We are looking forward to receiving your application form soon.

Information for application guide>>

The three artists who came to Japan on January 7th of 2015 for the “Animation Artists in Residence Tokyo 2015” program, Alex Grigg (Australia), Anna Budanova (Russia), and Natalia Chernysheva (Russia) returned to their countries on March 17th after having completed their 70-day residence. During their stay in Tokyo they enthusiastically participated in the various planned educational and cultural exchange programs while continuing to work on their individual projects. The educational programs included three meetings at which they received comments from their advisors, a visit to the atelier of an animation artist, and a visit to a studio to see animation in production. The cultural exchange segment of the program included participation in events such as the Japan Media Arts festival and the Yebisu International Festival for Arts and Alternative Visions, two exchange events with students at educational institutions, screening/project presentation events in Kobe and Kyoto, and a final presentation on the results of the program. While introducing their own works and the projects they were working on as part of this program, the invited artists built bonds of friendship and intercultural exchange with many Japanese animation creators, visual artists, and other individuals involved in these fields. The visiting artists will complete the works they began during their stay (Alex Grigg’s “Into the Heart of the Sun”, Anna Budanova’s “Among Black Waves”, and Natalia Chernysheva’s “Cobweb”) after returning to their home countries. The advisors who supervised them during the program were Sonoko Kifune (animation artist, Professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University Faculty of Fine Arts Department of Animation), Taku Furukawa (animation artist, illustrator, President of the Japan Animation Association), and KÙji Yamamura (animation artist, Professor at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts). The progress of this year’s program is described below.

Three artists chosen to participate in “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2015″ >>

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January 16th (Fri.) Place: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Visit with Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Masanori Aoyagi
The invited artists visited Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Masanori Aoyagi. The Commissioner asked them questions on various topics, including methods and duration of production when creating animation using computers, the themes of the works they would be working on during their stay, and the meaning of the titles they had chosen. He offered them the following words of encouragement: “Please enjoy your stay in Tokyo, and take advantage of this chance to encounter various forms of Japanese culture. I look forward to seeing the results of your work.”

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January 25th (Sat.)
Visit to Yamamura Animation
The artists visited the atelier of animator KÙji Yamamura (Animation artist, Professor of animation at the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Film and New Media). Using his illustrations and original drawings from his animated works, Mr. Yamamura explained to them his production methods and use of materials, and spoke to them in detail about his distinctive production style and approach to creating art.

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January 18th (Sun.)　Place: Tokyo University of the Arts Bankokubashi Building
Visit to the Tokyo University of the arts Graduate School of Film and New Media Animation Department
The visiting artists conducted screenings of their previous works, production presentations and question and answer sessions with approximately fifteen students in the Tokyo University of the arts Graduate School of Film and New Media Animation Department. They viewed previews of the graduate students’ first year and graduation projects and exchanged ideas and opinions with these student filmmakers. The students’ films also gave them ideas for the works they were in the midst of creating.

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January 22nd (Thu.) Place Tokyo Polytechnic University Nakano Campus
Visit to Tokyo Polytechnic University
The visiting artists conducted screenings of their previous works, production presentations, and question and answer sessions with approximately ten students and educators in the Animation Department of Tokyo Polytechnic University. They were asked many concrete questions such as how they came up with the stories of their previous works. The event was held in the “Muybridge theater”, and after it was over they were given the chance to experience this facility’s 11.1 channel 3D sound.

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February 2nd (Mon.)
Second educational event
The three invited artists gave presentations on the progress of their projects using sketches and test animations. After presenting these concrete materials they then received extensive questions and guidance from their advisers.

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February 3rd (Tue.) Place: The National Art Center, Tokyo
Participation in the preview event, awards presentation, and gala of the 18th Japan Media Arts Festival
The invited artists attended the Japan Media Arts Festival’s preview event, and then took part in the awards ceremony and festival gala. Invited artist Anna Budanova’s work “The Wound” was awarded the Grand Prize in the Animation Section. At the gala the artists met animation artists and film festival programmers from Japan and overseas, and had an opportunity to make many new acquaintances in Japan.

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February 18th (Wed.)
Visit to Robot Communications Inc.
The invited artists visited the offices of Robot Communications Inc., a company that has its own animation artists and produces art animation in addition to commercial animation. They received practical explanations of various production sections and the workspace of animation artist Takuya Inaba, and watched a showreel of the diverse works this company has created. They exchanged various thoughts and opinions with Robot Communications staff members including animation artist Tatsutoshi Nomura and producer Emi Matsumoto.

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February 20th (Fri.) 19:00〜22:30 Place: Kobe Art Village Center
Global Independent Animation 2015 (Kobe)
An event at which recent works by the three invited artists were screened and presentations on their plans for their residence were given, and a program entitled “Independent Animation from Asia” was also held in which six leading Asian animation artists screened works and gave lectures on the state of animation and challenges being faced in their various countries. Afterwards an exchange event was held at which the artists and participants shared their thoughts and opinions.

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February 21st (Sat.) 17:15〜20:45 Place: Kyoto Art Center
Global Independent Animation 2015 (Kyoto)
A program with the same content as the previous day’s event in Kobe was held in Kyoto. The artists shared ideas and opinions with participants at an exchange event held after the program had finished.

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February 26th (Thu.) Place: Yebisu Garden Hall
Preview event and reception at the 7th Annual Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions
The invited artists viewed works being screened at the festival and took part in an opening/reception event. They met curators and others involved in the field of moving images in Japan as well as filmmakers and contemporary artists from Japan and overseas.

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March 4th (Thu.)
Third educational event
The three invited artists discussed their plans to complete their projects and received guidance from their advisors, and also prepared their presentations for their results presentation events.

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March 14th (Sat.) 15:00 – 20:10 Place: ASTUDIO (Aoyama Gakuin)
Results Presentation Event
A results presentation event was held under the title “Global Independent Animation 2015” with the aim of reporting on the progress of this event and presenting the results of the invited artists’ work during their stay. In addition to the contents of the screening and presentation events held in Kobe and Kyoto, the three invited artists screened and explained the work they had produced during their stay, and the three advisers then exchanged thoughts with them while offering guidance and then gave a summary of this year’s project. After the general comments of the advisors, an exchange event was held in a different room at which the invited artists enthusiastically engaged in sharing thoughts and opinions with the event’s participants.

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Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo (A-AIR) 2016 – Application Guide >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2014” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2012-2013” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2011-2012” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2010-2011” >>

With the application period having ended on September 10th, we are pleased to announce the selection of the three artists that have been invited to participate in “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2015.” This project, organized and run once again this year by the Japan Image Council on behalf of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, gives talented creators from other countries the opportunity to pursue their art while visiting Japan. It was established in order to contribute to the development of media art in this country through the promotion of international exchange and the educational opportunities for Japanese artists this kind of interaction provides.
This year we invited media art creators between the ages of 20 and 35 from all over the world to apply for this program between July 1st and September 10th, and in response we received 250 applications from 61 countries. Three applicants were selected to participate in the program after a process involving a preparatory selection meeting, first selection committee meeting and second selection committee meeting. These artists will spend 70 days living in Tokyo from January 7th to March 17th, 2015 during which time they will each produce a new work of art while participating in various programs including training sessions, screenings, visits to studios and the ateliers of animation artists, and exchanges with educational institutions.

Invited Artists (Gender/Nationality/Age*) *As of January 7th, 2015


Alex Grigg (Male/Australia/27)

Anna Budanova (Female/Russia/36)

Natalia Chernysheva (Female/Russia/30)

*For more information please contact the Japan Image Council

Telephone: +81-3-6670-5676 Fax: +81-3-5466-0054 Website: http://japic.jp/eng/

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Invited Artist Profiles

Alex Grigg ( Male / Australia / 27 )

Born in 1987. Graduated from Queensland College of Art in 2008. After working as an animator / designer for varying companies in Australia in Europe, he was invited to join an independent animator’s collective Late Night Work Club in 2013. ‘Phantom Limb,’ a work that he produced there, won the Young Director’s award at Cannes Lions, and the Special Jury Prize at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, amongst other awards, in 2014.
Artist’s website: www.alexgrigg.com

Previous Works
2013 Phantom Limb
2014 Tower Block

Project Overview
“In My Bones”: A film that follows a relationship between a skeleton and his flesh. The two lead a normal life during the day living as one human, but by night the skeleton leaves his flesh to roam the streets searching for a way to replace the partner he was born to. The film would be created with a combination of digital hand drawn and traditional hand drawn elements.



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Anna Budanova ( Female / Russia / 26 )

Born in 1988. Graduated from the Ural State Academy of Architecture and Arts in 2011. While enrolled, she participated in varying movies as an animator / art director. Her debut film, ‘The Wound’ won the Special Jury Award for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2013, the Special Prize for the Hiroshima International Animation Festival 2014, the Grand Prize for the 18th Japan Media Arts Festival, and many other awards.


Previous Works

2013 The Wound

Project Overview

A film based on an ancient legend taking place at an Scandinavian shore, where the souls of people who have drowned changes its shape into a monster. The film would be created by hand drawn 2D animation.

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Natalia Chernysheva ( Female / Russia / 30 )

Born in 1984. Graduated from the Ural State Academy of Architecture and Arts. After working mainly as an animator for several animation films, her debut film ‘Snowflake’ won the Grand Prix for the Sofia International Animation Film Festival 2013, the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Prize for the 30th Annual Chicago International Childern’s Film Festival, and many other awards. She has studied in France at La Podriere since 2012, and directed ‘Friends’ as her graduation film in 2014.
Artist’s website: http://cher-nata.blogspot.fr


Previous Works

2012 Snowflake

2013 The Return
2014 Friends

Project Overview

“Lace Maker”: A film depicting the life of a spider, who his values had been flipped over by the wondrous laced world created by an old lady, after living a trivial life consisted only of capturing flies. The film would be made in hand drawn 2D animation, with the incorporation of various traditional Japanese art forms.

This program’s application entry has closed on September 10th.
The selected finalists will be announced in the beginning of November.
Thank you for applying and we wish you all the best for your animation!

The three artists who came to Japan on January 7th of 2014 for the “Animation Artists in Residence Tokyo 2014” program, Michael Frei (Switzerland),
 Ofra Kobliner (Israel), and
 Tomasz Popakul (Poland), returned to their countries on March 17th after having completed their 70 day residence. During their stay in Tokyo they enthusiastically participated in the various planned educational and cultural exchange programs while continuing to work on their individual projects. The educational programs included three meetings at which they received comments from their advisors, a visit to the atelier of an animation artist, and three visits to studios to see animation in production. The cultural exchange segment of the program included participation in events such as the Japan Media Arts festival and the Yebisu International Festival for Arts and Alternative Visions, an exchange event with students at an educational institution, screening/project presentation events in Kobe and Kyoto, and a final presentation on the results of the program. While introducing their own works and the projects they were working on as part of this program, the invited artists built bonds of friendship and intercultural exchange with many Japanese animation creators, visual artists, and other individuals involved in these fields. The visiting artists will complete the works they began during their stay (Michael Frei’s “Kids,” Ofra Kobliner’s “Shika (SHIKA),” and Tomasz Popakul’s “Black”) after returning to their home countries. The advisors who supervised them during the program were Sonoko Kifune (Animation artist/Professor, Tokyo Polytechnic University Faculty of Fine Arts Department of Animation), Tatsutoshi Nomura (Animation artist/Associate Professor, Tama Art University Faculty of Art and Design Department of Graphic Design), and Taku Furukawa (Animator/Visiting Professor, Tokyo Polytechnic University Faculty of Fine Arts). The progress of this year’s program is described below.

Three artists chosen to participate in “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2014” >>

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Photographic record

January 11th (Sat.)
First educational event
First meeting between the three selected artists, the program advisors (Sonoko Kifune, Tatsutoshi Nomura and Taku Furukawa) and Chief Senior Specialist for Arts and Culture at the Agency for Cultural Affairs Tomonori Saeki.

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January 25th (Sat.)
Visit to Yamamura Animation
The artists visited the Atelier of animator Koji Yamamura (Animation artist/Professor of animation at the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Film and New Media). Visiting Mr. Yamamura’s workspace they learned about various aspects of his work such as his production process and the materials he uses and listened to him talk about his distinctive production style and approach to creating art.

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February 3rd (Mon.)
Second educational event
The three invited artists gave presentations on the progress of their projects using sketches and test animations. After their having presented these concrete materials, extensive questions and advice were then exchanged between them and their advisers. These presentations also doubled as practice for the screenings and production presentations in the Kansai area scheduled for February 21st and 22.

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February 4th (Tue.) Place: The National Art Center, Tokyo
Participation in the preview event, awards presentation, and gala of the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival
The invited artists met individuals connected to the Agency for Cultural Affairs as well as animation artists and film festival programmers from both Japan and overseas, and were given the opportunity to become acquainted with many people involved in the field of animation.

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February 6th (Thu.) Place: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography
Preview screening and reception at the 6th Annual Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions
The invited artists viewed works being screened at the festival and attended an opening/reception event. They met curators and others involved in the field of moving images in Japan as well as filmmakers and contemporary artists from Japan and overseas.

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February 17th (Mon.)
Visit to ROBOT CAGE
The invited artists visited the offices of ROBOT CAGE, a company that includes animation artists and produces art animation in addition to commercial animation. They received practical explanations about various production sections, and watched a diverse selection of works that had been created by this company in the past as well as “Golden Time”, the latest film by Takuya Inaba. They exchanged ideas and opinions with animation artists Takuya Inaba and Osamu Sakai and several producers at Robot Communications Inc.

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February 18th (Tue.)
Visit to the Tokyo University of the arts Graduate School of Film and New Media Animation Department
The visiting artists conducted screenings of their previous works, production presentations and question and answer sessions with approximately twenty students in the Tokyo University of the arts Graduate School of Film and New Media Animation Department. They viewed previews of the graduate students’ first year and graduation projects and exchanged ideas and opinions with these student filmmakers. The students’ films also gave them ideas for the works they were in the midst of creating.

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February 19th (Wed.)
Visit to Studio4℃
As requested by one of the invited artists, Tomasz Popakul, all three visited Studio4℃, a studio that produces moving image works with an emphasis on animation such as “Tekkonkinkreet” and “Mind game”. While looking at original background art they listened to director Michael Arias, character designer Shoujirou Nishimi, and art director Shinji Kimura talk about the creation of “Tekkonkinkreet”, and they also received practical explanations of various aspects of the studio production environment.

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February 21st (Fri.) 18:30〜21:00 Place: Kobe Art Village Center
Global Independent Animation 2014 in Kansai (Kobe)
An event at which works by the three invited artists were screened and presentations on their plans for their residence were given was staged in cooperation with Kobe Art Village Center. Afterwards an exchange event was held at which the artists and participants shared their thoughts and opinions.

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February 22nd (Sat.) 16:00〜18:30 Place: Kyoto Art Center
Global Independent Animation 2014 in Kansai (Kyoto)
An event at which works by the three invited artists were screened and presentations on their plans for their residence were given was staged in cooperation with Kyoto Art Center. Afterwards an exchange event was held at which the artists and participants exchanged ideas and opinions.

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February 24th (Mon.)
Visit to the IKIF+ studio
Using extracts and making-of footage and of some of their major works such as “Kingdom” 2nd series and “Innocence”, IKIF (Sonoko Kifune and Tokumitsu Kifune) explained their production style to the artists. They also visited different sections within the studio, and along with receiving an explanation of the production system got to meet and interact with young members of the production staff.

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March 7th (Fri.)
Third educational event
The three invited artists discussed their plans to complete their projects and received guidance from their advisors, and prepared their presentations for their final project presentation events.

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March 14th (Fri.) 17:00 – 20:20 Place: ASTUDIO (Aoyama Gakuin)
Project Presentation Event
Along with a general audience, individuals involved in the field of animation or connected to the Agency for Cultural Affairs were invited to this event held at ASTUDIO (Aoyama Gakuin). After a greeting from the organizers was given by Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Seiichi Kondo, Japan Image Council Executive Director Hiroyuki Ikeda described the program and gave a report on its progress, and the three artists then screened and discussed the works they had created during their stay in Japan. In the second part of the event the three program advisors (Sonoko Kifune, Tatsutoshi Nomura, and Toku Furukawa) held a panel discussion in which they talked about the results and content of the program while sharing their thoughts and feelings about their experience advising the invited artists.

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Animation Artists in Residence Tokyo 2015 – Application Guide >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2012-2013” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2011-2012” >>
Report following the conclusion of “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2010-2011” >>

This program’s application entry has closed on September 10th. The selected finalists will be announced in the beginning of November. Thank you for applying and we wish you all the best for your animation!

1. Aims of the project

This project, organised by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunka-cho / Government of Japan), is an artist in residence program which aims to provide three outstanding young animation artists from around the world with an opportunity to come to Tokyo and create new works while directly interacting with Japanese animation culture. In doing so, we aim to promote both the creation of excellent works of animation and a better understanding of Japanese culture.
[Read more...]

With the application period having ended on September 9th, we are pleased to announce the selection of the three artists that have been invited to participate in “Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo 2014. [Read more...]