September 29, 2017, 2pm
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Yokohama, Japan) announced Hikaru Fujii as the winner of the Nissan Art Award 2017 Grand Prix, the third edition of the award since it was launched in 2013.
An international jury, representing Nissan’s culture of diversity, chose the grand prix winner through multiple selection processes. Fujii’s work Playing Japanese, which examines Japanese history and contemporary world affairs was selected from that of five finalists: Motoyuki Daifu, Hikaru Fujii, Ryuichi Ishikawa, Yuichiro Tamura and Nami Yokoyama, who were chosen in an initial round in New York in May.
“What was impressive about the award this year was how all of the finalists sincerely confronted their works of art,” said Fumio Nanjo, the chair of the Nissan Art Award 2017 jury. “Among them, Fujii’s artwork broaches an extremely complex period of Japanese history from around when the nation started to interact with other cultures, and then, through the means of a workshop, presents us with a strong message and questions. Responding also to the state of affairs in the world today, his superb work transcends cultures and nationalities to resonate with all kinds of people.”
Explaining his winning entry, Fujii said, “This is an artwork that couldn’t have been realized without the cooperation of the performers and dozens of others who were involved. Through an artwork and a workshop recreating actual events from around 100 years ago, I want viewers to examine carefully the ways we are the same as people in the past, and the ways that we are different.”
In addition to prize money and a trophy, Fujii will be given the opportunity to participate in a three-month residency at the International Studio & Curatorial Program, a leading global art institution in New York. The program is renowned for the support it offers artists, helping them further their careers and activities at the international level.
Each of the finalists selected in May received prize money and funding to create new works of art, which have been on display at BankART Studio NYK in Yokohama since September 16 until November 5. The special exhibition has attracted many visitors, including people attending the concurrent Yokohama Triennale 2017.
Exhibition visitors were invited to cast votes to select a winner of the Audience Award. Over the first 11 days of the exhibition, 687 votes were cast. The winner of the Audience Award was Nami Yokoyama.
The biennial Nissan Art Award is presented to the emerging generation of Japanese contemporary artists and showcases different unique expressions, with subjects ranging from the familiar to historical interpretation. Part of Nissan’s vision of “enriching people’s lives,” its goal is to boost the finalists’ careers and contribute to Japanese culture by helping shape a society that’s more acquainted with art and enriched by it.
“Nissan established the Nissan Art Award in 2013 to celebrate and elevate Japan’s thriving arts culture,” said Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s chairman. “Our goal is to provide promising artists an opportunity to reach new audiences and obtain the resources to grow their talents. I would like to congratulate each of our finalists on their achievements, and I wish them future success.”
Nissan Art Award 2017 finalists
Grand Prix winner: Hikaru Fujii
Audience Award winner: Nami Yokoyama
The jury of the Nissan Art Award 2017:
Fumio Nanjo (chair): Director, Mori Art Museum (Tokyo)
Jean de Loisy: Director, Palais de Tokyo (Paris)
Sunjung Kim: Director, Art Sonje Center/Artistic director, Real DMZ Project (Seoul)
Jessica Morgan: Director, Dia Art Foundation (New York)
Lawrence Rinder: Director and chief curator, Berkeley Museum and Pacific Film Archive (California)
The Past Grand Prix winners:
Aiko Miyanaga (2013)
Yuko Mohri (2015)
