organization
Kyoto Experiment is an international performing arts festival that has been held annually in the city of Kyoto since 2010. Inviting cutting-edge artists from Japan and abroad, we introduce stage works that freely cross genres—not only theater, dance, and music, but also art, design, architecture, and more. At the same time, we serve as a meeting point between society and cutting-edge art/culture, fostering thinking and dialogue about experimental artistic expression with an eye on the future.
Kyoto Experiment operates in collaboration with theaters and art centers, both private and public, with the following three goals:
1. Becoming a creative home for pioneering art from Japan and overseas
2. Fostering new interactions by innovating Kyoto’s art/culture and making it available to a wider public
3. Cultivating new possibilities for art/culture in team with the people who will carry its future.
- Name:
- Kyoto Experiment: Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival 2021
- Dates:
- February 6–March 28, 2021
- Venues:
- ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto Art Theater Shunjuza, Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design, Kyoto Prefectural Citizens’ Hall ALTI, mumokuteki hall and other locations
- Organized by
-
Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival Executive Committee [Kyoto City, ROHM Theatre Kyoto (Kyoto City Music Art Cultural Promoting Foundation), Kyoto Art Center (Kyoto Arts and Culture Foundation), Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of the Arts]
-
Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival Executive Committee
- Chair
- Fumio Amano(Professor, Director of Kyoto Performing Arts Center)
- Vice Chair
- Yoshiaki Morikawa(Senior Director, Kyoto City Music Art Cultural Promoting Foundation)
- Committee Members
- Toshihiko Inoue(Secretary-General, Kyoto Arts and Culture Foundation)
- Tetsuya Ozaki(Editor / Issuer and Editor-in-Chief of REALKYOTO)
- Yusuke Hashimoto(Program Director, ROHM Theatre Kyoto)
- Ritsue Hata(Editorial committee member of Arts and Cultural News Department, Osaka head office of The Mainichi Newspapers)
- Morihiro Matsumoto(Culture and Art Unit Head, Culture and Citizens Affairs Bureau of Kyoto City)
- Hiroshi Yoshioka(Aesthetician / Professor of Aesthetics and Theory of Arts, Kyoto University)
- Supervisors
- Mitsuhiro Adachi(Deputy Director, ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Kyoto City Music Art Cultural Promoting Foundation)
- Chihiro Fujita(Culture and Art Unit Head, Culture and Citizens Affairs Bureau of Kyoto City)
- Advisors
- Kojin Ota(Theater Critic / President, Kyoto University of Education)
- Akira Shigeyama(Kyogen Artist / President of NPO Kyoto Arts Meeting / Director, THEATRE E9 KYOTO)
- Motoaki Shinohara (Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University)
- Soshitsu Sen(Urasenke Grand Tea Master)
- Akira Tatehata(Director, Kyoto Art Center / President, Tama Art University)
- Moriaki Watanabe(Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University / Theater Director)
Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival Executive Committee Office
- Co-directors
- Yoko Kawasaki, Yuya Tsukahara, Juliet Reiko Knapp
- Administrative Director
- Junko Kakiwaki
- Office
- Miwako Inoue, Shunsuke Kadowaki, Hiroshi Watanabe
- Public
- Relations: Yoshimi Toyoyama, Ruka Maeda, Mei Toma
- Production Coordinators
- Mari Satomura, Tsubasa Shimizu(KANKARA Inc.), Ayako Takemoto, Kanako Yamasaki (KANKARA Inc.)
- [ROHM Theatre Kyoto]Kei Saito, Kimiko Terada, Kanon Matsumoto
- [Kyoto Art Center]Kinari Toyama, Noriko Mizuno, Yukina Yagi
- [Kyoto Performing Arts Center]Miho Kawahara
- Technical Director
- Masaya Natsume
- Technical Coordinator
- Mao Sakai
- Interns
- Hiromasa Hirakawa, Kota Yamada
- PR Ambassador
- Naho Nakamura, Sae Matsumoto
- Text Coordination
- Eriko Nishitani
- English translation from Japanese
- Art Translators Collective, William Andrews, Yumiko Deguchi
- Art Direction / Design
- Aiko Koike
- Video Direction
- Takuya Matsumi, Kim Song Gi, Yoshitaka Shimada, Yuki Moriya
- Web Direction
- bank to LLC.(Takahiro Mitsukawa, Yumi Hayashi, Hiroshi Matsuda)
- Web Design
- Kento Yoshida(bank to LLC.)
- Web Programming / Web Coding
- Kazuma Hitomi(bank to LLC.)
- Advisory Board
- Reza Afisina(New Media Artist / Member and Artistic Board of ruangrupa / Artistic Director of ruangrupa Arts Laboratory [ArtLab])
- Toru Koyamada(Artist / Professor, Kyoto City University of Arts)
- Anna Wagner(Dramaturg, Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt / Main)
Staff
-
Yoko Kawasaki
Performing Arts Producer / Kyoto Experiment Co-director
After working at CAN Inc. and as an art coordinator for Kyoto Art Center from 2011-2014, she was a fellow for the Program of Overseas Study by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and studied at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin. In recent years she has planned and produced interdisciplinary performing arts projects. She has been involved as production coordinator at Kyoto Experiment since 2011 and is co-director since 2020. -
Yuya Tsukahara
Kyoto Experiment Co-director. After graduating with a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Art Studies from Kwansei Gakuin University, he joined NPO DANCEBOX as a volunteer and later became a staff member. In 2006, he began activities as an artist as a member of the performance group contact Gonzo. In 2020, he received the Best staff award at the Yomiuri Theater Awards for his scenography and choreography in the theater work Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession. Since 2020 he is also a part-time lecturer at the Department of Sculpture at Kyoto City University of Arts.
-
Juliet Knapp
Kyoto Experiment Co-director. Born in Fukuoka. Graduated Oxford University with a BA in English Literature and Language. From 2015-2017 she worked as communications manager and project manager for music and performance at Ryoji Ikeda Studio. She has been involved as a member of the PR team at Kyoto Experiment since 2017 and is co-director since 2020. Likes Yorkshire Tea.
-
Junko Kakiwaki
After studying theatre at university, joined the theatre company MONO as a production staff member. Currently Kyoto Experiment’s executive director. She thinks the work that goes into facing one theatre company, as well as that of welcoming many artists is equally as fun! Likes numbers. Has an admiration for those that feel prime numbers are beautiful.
-
Miwako Inoue
Majored in ‘Coexistence with NPOs’ at graduate school. At Kyoto Experiment, she is in charge of volunteers, managing internships and arranging hotels. Believes most things are fine if you have animals and plants. Favorite food in the world was peaches, but due to a fruit allergy, is no longer able to enjoy them.
-
Shunsuke Kadowaki
At Kyoto Experiment, he is in charge of accounting, ticketing and grants & subsidies. Active as an actor for two theatre companies, Baby Pee and Knit Cap Theater. Sometimes plays the Cajón.
-
Hiroshi Watanabe
At Kyoto Experiment, he is in charge of SKF and related events as well as ticketing. Society, art and learning are his keywords. Involved in theatre, organises workshops, MCs and teaches. In daily life, is a Hanshin Tigers (baseball team) fan and sports enthusiast who never fails to check the sports news.
-
Yoshimi Toyoyama
Public Relations Team. Born in Osaka. After graduating with a degree in film and performing arts from Kyoto University of the Arts, formed and was active as a member of a performance group. →Studied abroad in Thailand. →Present: production coordination for theatre, dance, photo exhibitions and murder mystery events. Likes Thailand, travelling and bottled beer.
-
Ruka Maeda
Public Relations Team. Born, raised and lives in Osaka. From a young age to high school, participated in Oyako Theater (Parent & Child Theater) and grew up watching theater and performing arts. After studying cultural policy at graduate school, she is based in Osaka and works as a production coordinator for performing arts events and arts manager for projects with people who do not specialize in art. Likes (anime and cartoon) characters and cute things.
-
Mei Toma
Public Relations Team. Born in Okinawa. Graduated with a degree in Art Studies from Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts (Faculty of Arts and Crafts, Discipline of Fine Arts). Lives in Kyoto. After working as an art coordinator for Kyoto Art Center, she joined Kyoto Experiment. Likes audiobooks.
Partner
Supported by
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan through the Japan Arts Council 2020
- Japan Foundation for Regional Art Activities
- Association for Corporate Support of the Arts, Japan: 2021 Fund for Creation of Society by the Arts and Culture
- The Saison Foundation
- istyle Art and Sports Foundation
- The Asahi Shimbun Foundation
- Austrian Cultural Forum Tokyo
- Performing Arts Fund NL
- Goethe-Institut Osaka Kyoto
With the stage equipment co-operation of
- Lighting Equipment: RYU Co., Ltd.
- Audio Equipment: KWAT Co., Ltd.
- Video Equipment: Takenaka Co., Ltd.
With the cooperation of
- Kawaramachi Shopping Street Promotion Association, Kyoto Okazaki Tsutaya Books, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Kyoto Prefectural Citizens’ Hall ALTI, Kyoto CLUB METRO, Shijo Han’eikai Shopping Street Promotion Association, FabCafe Kyoto, Editorial Haus MAGASINN KYOTO, mumokuteki hall, Gion Shopping Street Promotion Association