organization

Mission

Kyoto Experiment is an international performing arts festival that has been held annually in the city of Kyoto since 2010. Inviting radical 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.

History

Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival Executive Committee

Chair:: Fumio Amano (Noh Researcher / Professor Emeritus, Osaka University)

Vice Chair:: Yoshiaki Morikawa (Managing Director, Kyoto City Music Art Cultural Promoting Foundation)

Committee Members:: Yoshitaka Ando (Professor, Director of Kyoto Performing Arts Center); Itsuki Umeyama (Theater Researcher / Associate Professor, Department of Arts, Kindai University); Yukako Ogura (Program Director, ROHM Theatre Kyoto); Tetsuya Ozaki (Editor-in-Chief, REALKYOTO FORUM, ICA KYOTO); Yota Kageyama (Director, Arts Seed Kyoto / Theatre Manager, THEATRE E9 KYOTO); Toru Koyamada (Artist / Professor, Kyoto City University of Arts); Ken Makizawa (Manager, Culture and Arts Planning Section, Culture and Citizens Affairs Bureau of Kyoto City）; Satoshi Yamashita (General Manager and Secretary-General, Kyoto Arts and Culture Foundation); Hiroshi Yoshioka (Aesthetician / Professor, Institute of Philosophy and Science of Art Kyoto University of The Arts)

Supervisors:: Noriaki Azuma (Deputy Director, ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Kyoto City Music Art Cultural Promoting Foundation); Makoto Kuratani (Manager, Culture and Arts Planning Section, 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 (Poet/Art critic, Director, KYOTO ART CENTER); Ritsue Hata (Guest Editor, Mainichi Shimbun / Visiting Professor, Osaka University of Arts Junior College); Oriza Hirata (Playwright, Theater Director / Director of Seinendan / President, Professional College of Arts and Tourism)

Names are listed in gojuon order (a system for ordering Japanese kana characters).

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:: Ruka Maeda, Yoshimi Toyoyama, Chihiro Ogura

Public Relations Adviser:: Kanon Matsumoto (ROHM Theatre Kyoto)

Public Relations Support:: Mei Toma

Chief Production Coordinator:: Kanako Yamasaki (KANKARA Inc.)

Production Coordinators:: Mami Katsuya, Tsubasa Shimizu (KANKARA Inc.), Yuko Takeda, Shunsuke Manabe; [ROHM Theatre Kyoto] Mizuki Kakita, Yuichiro Masuya; [KYOTO ART CENTER] Tomo Setou, Keisuke Nakaya, Kanoko Hirai; [Kyoto Performing Arts Center] Takanori Goto, Hiromi Fujii; [THEATRE E9 KYOTO] Mana Okuyama, Taro Kimoto

Meeting Point Coordinator:: Momomi Harada

Technical Director:: Masaya Natsume

Technical Coordinators:: Kodachi Kitagata, Yuhi Kobayashi

Technical Administration:: Mao Sakai

Interns:: Moe Nagasawa, Mikiko Yamada

Text Coordination:: MUESUM Co.Ltd., (Tomomi Tada, Dai Nagae, Ruriko Suzuki)

English translation from Japanese:: Art Translators Collective (Lillian Canright, Hibiki Mizuno, Yume Morimoto, Monika Uchiyama), William Andrews

Art Direction / Design:: Aiko Koike

Archive Video and Photo Direction:: slide//show (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.), Narumi Wakabayashi (bank to LLC.)

Advisory Board:: Reza Afisina(Artist, Artistic Director of ruangrupa Arts Laboratory)
Masataka Hosoo (President & CEO, Hosoo Co.Ltd.)
Anna Wagner (Artistic and Managing Director, Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt am Main)

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
THEATRE E9 KYOTO (Arts Seed Kyoto)

Supported by

The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, through the Japan Arts Council
Japan Foundation for Regional Art Activities
Association for Corporate Support of the Arts, Japan:
Arts Fund for Creation of Society

Supported by (individual programs)

The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, through the Japan Arts Council
“JAPAN LIVE YELL project”
(Alice Ripoll / Cia. REC)
The Saison Foundation
(Wichaya Artamat / For What Theatre)
Hong Kong Arts Development Council
(Samson Young)

Specific individual programs are co-presented by

The Japan Foundation (Wichaya Artamat / For What Theatre)
*This work was produced for the Japan Foundation’s International Creations in Performing Arts 2023.
GEIDANKYO (Japan Council of Performers Rights & Performing Arts Organizations)
(Alice Ripoll / Cia. REC)
Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels (Ruth Childs & Lucinda Childs)https://www.dancereflections-vancleefarpels.com/en

Special sponsored by

Hase Building Co., Ltd.

With the special cooperation of

Australian Embassy Tokyo and Goethe-Institut Osaka Kyoto

Sponsorship

Embassy of Argentine Republic in Japan

With the stage equipment cooperation of

Lighting Equipment: RYU Co., Ltd.
Audio Equipment: KWAT Co., Ltd.
Video Equipment: Takenaka Co., Ltd.

With the cooperation of

Art Collaboration Kyoto, Consulate-General of Germany in Osaka-Kobe, Kamogawa Delta Festival, KAGANHOTEL, Kyoto Okazaki Tsutaya Books, Kyoto Student Theater Festival 2023, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Gion Shopping Street Promotion Association, Délégation générale du Québec à Tokyo, codex|edition, The side, The Reign Hotel Kyoto, Shijo Han‛eikai Shopping Street Promotion Associations, Toyooka Theater Festival 2023, Nuit Blanche KYOTO 2023, node hotel, BnA Alter Museum, HOSOO GALLERY, MAGASINN KYOTO

Supporters

bench Co., Yasumichi Nakai Tax Accountant Office, Kazuko Nasu

Special thanks to KEX Supporters

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Stéphane Noël / 羅永飛

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, she 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.
Chihiro Ogura

Public Relations team. Sento (public bath) enthusiast. Has a graduate degree in cultural economics. As a researcher (on the topic of discounted advance tickets in Japanese theater) and also as an actor and singer, she works both on research and her own artistic activities in a way that goes back and forth between a bird’s eye perspective and on the ground experience.