Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) is pleased to announce that Umeda Tetsuya and Oh haji were selected as the winners for the fifth Tokyo Contemporary Art Award (TCAA).
The winners will receive the monetary prize 3 million JPY and the several years of continuous support such as the funding for overseas activities, the opportunity to show their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) and the publication of a monograph.
The award ceremony and symposium are scheduled for February 17, 2024 at MOT.
The winners were chosen by the International Selection Committee, consisting of: Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, Director, Kunstinstituut Melly; Lesley Ma, Ming Chu Hsu and Daniel Xu Associate Curator of Asian Art in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Nomura Shino, Senior Curator, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery; Takahashi Mizuki, Executive Director and Chief Curator, CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile); Washida Meruro, Director, Towada Art Center / Associate Professor, Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts; Kondo Yuki, Program Director, Tokyo Arts and Space.
*Positions and titles current as of the time of the 2023 selection process.
Comments from the Chair of the Selection Committee
Despite the fact that many of the artists employ digital media including photography and video, there was, unfortunately, little surprise in their media choices, methodology, or methods of display.
Many of the submitted applications demonstrated that the applicants’ motivations stemmed from personal questions of nationality, attributes, and gender identity, and their works present strong aspirations to extend their own motivation to other individuals, collective history, and experiences. We were also impressed with the artists’ dedicated efforts to build trust and cultivate relationships over time with those who are involved in the work during the production process.
The issues of minorities and migration are intrinsically tied to the history and geopolitics of respective places. On the other hand, these are not issues particular to Japan but are omnipresent. Thus, addressing these issues has a strong potential to illuminate and share universal problems or overarching locally rooted problems for further discussion with people who do not share a Japanese context.
—TAKAHASHI Mizuki [Executive Director and Chief Curator, Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT)]
Reasons for the award
Umeda Tetsuya: Umeda Tetsuya has been highly commended for his deep insight into the geopolitical and environmental aspects of the locations where he showcases his work. He skillfully translates these insights into his unique artistic language, elevating them into compelling art pieces. Umeda adeptly handles complex themes such as history and systems, employing expressions that rely on human sensory trust. His work is both poetic and lyrical, demonstrating a remarkable talent for interpreting and creatively transforming the physical constraints of space. Evincing an ethical approach, Umeda’s work is focused on enhancing the viewer’s experience and is characterized by meticulously crafted, intimate mechanisms that encourage viewers to engage with the space spontaneously. His ability to weave these elements into a coherent narrative through cross-disciplinary storytelling, grounded in a profound understanding of visual culture, is particularly noteworthy.
Oh haji: Oh Haji’s work stands out for its balanced emphasis on both the broad strokes of history and the nuanced stories of individuals often overlooked in grand historical narratives. Her textile creations, through the mediums of dyeing and weaving, represent the intricate tapestry of geopolitics, women’s history, and the narratives of migration and immigration. Oh’s extensive research into textile techniques and materials, viewed as elements of material culture, her high level of craftsmanship, and her conceptual approach to subject matter have earned her considerable acclaim. Her current body of work is also highly commended not only for highlighting the lives of individuals but also for its intersectional approach to examining class and labor, which has the potential to forge connections with history, as well as with contemporary issues related to gender, migration, and environmental concerns.
About TCAA
The TCAA is a contemporary art award established by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyo Arts and Space in 2018 to encourage mid-career artists to make new breakthroughs in their work by providing them with several years of continuous support.
