1. Program Overview

Since its opening, Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (ACAC) has conducted an Artist in Residence (AIR) program via open call nearly every year. This year’s open call AIR is intended to provide people involved in a wide range of cultural and artistic pursuits – including artists, curators, and researchers – with an opportunity to engage in creative activities while residing at ACAC. Residents will conduct research, create artwork, hold various events, and eventually present their results, all while receiving continuous support from ACAC’s curators, technicians, and staff. The activities of the residents will also be made available to the public through our website and program catalogs. The results – which may consist of artwork exhibitions, performances, workshops, presentations of research or production processes, or other formats – will be presented at this year’s presentation venue.

The residence period consists of a core period lasting for 52 days (51 nights) from October 11 to December 1, 2025, during which the participants will, in principle, reside at ACAC. If desired, participants may reside at ACAC for a maximum of 92 days (91 nights) from September 15 to December 15, 2025. Please select a residence period appropriate for your desired activities.

Due to scheduled renovation work at ACAC, the venue for the 2025 Results Presentation has been moved from our Exhibition Hall to the Aomori Citizens’ Art Gallery), inside the JR Aomori Station East Exit Building, although participants will still be able to use the Creative Hall and Residence Hall during this year’s program. ACAC’s Exhibition Hall – an enormous, 6-meter-high horseshoe-shaped space surrounded by the natural environment of the Hakkoda Mountains – has always had a considerable influence on the creations produced by past residents. Howevery, since the facility is located far from the heart of Aomori City, it is not easily accessible for many citizens. The art gallery which will be used as this year’s venue is on the 4th floor of a building occupied by a large number of retail establishments, with windows looking out over the city center. The artists will be forced to find ways to work around the constraints imposed by the architectural differences between the Exhibition Hall and the art gallery. But we consider the new forms of communication that will emerge from such challenges to be another unique aspect of this year’s program.

Each year, the AIR program is given a different title, but these titles are not themes intended to prescribe the contents of the participants’ activities. Rather, you should think of the program title as just one clue when conceptualizing the activities you plan to engage in during the residency. For ACAC, 2025 will be a period of maintenance, a period of restoration and care meant to ensure the continued use of the facilities in the future. This year’s title, “CAMP,” is an English word which carries several meanings: a temporary place of shelter; a place for conducting training in specific skills; a group sharing a given sensibility or doctrine; and the name of a subversive aesthetic style historically shared by various minority groups. “CAMP” represents the nature of ACAC as a place for artists to gather, stay, and confront their own expression while isolated from the comforts of city life; at the same time, it is also a means for surviving states of emergency and exception.

In 2025, this same “CAMP” concept will also act as the framework for nomination-type AIR events, as well as for an additional AIR by an artist to be recommended by our international AIR partners. This year’s open-call AIR will be very different from past years, but we hope you can develop activities that take advantage of these unique circumstances and help you discover new perspectives.

2. Guest Judge for 2025 program

IKEDA Kaho

Independent curator. Since 2016, she has been researching collective and DIY cultures that have developed out of indigenous cultures and social conditions, with a focus on Southeast Asia. She has an interest in interdisciplinary curation that combines forms such as exhibitions, performing arts, and educational programs. After gaining experience as curatorial assistant at Mori Art Museum, she began working independently in 2023. She is also a program co-director of the shared studio Yamanaka Suplex, and a guest curator at the Art Center BUG and the “Rokko Meets Art 2024 beyond” art festival. Recent major exhibitions and learning projects planned by Ikeda include: “BUG School 2024: Feeling Cities with Wild Sense” (BUG, 2024); “Learning Soil Together!” (Yamanaka Suplex, 2024); and “Go Alone? Arrive Faster? Aim Further? Die Together?” (Yamanaka Suplex, 2024).

3. Number of Participants

1. International applicants: Approx. 2
2. Domestic applicants: Approx. 2

4. Program Schedule

Residence Period

The core period of the residency will last for 52 days (51 nights) from October 11 to December 1, 2025, during which the participants will, in principle, reside at ACAC. If desired, participants may reside at ACAC for the entire program period, or a maximum of 92 days (91 nights), from September 15 to December 15, 2025.

Program period: September 15 (Mon) – December 15 (Mon), 2025
Core period: October 11 (Sat) – December 1 (Mon), 2025

Application Period, Selection Schedule

Application period: February 17 (Mon) – April 13 (Sun), 2025 17:00 JST (UTC +9:00)
Selection schedule:
April 13 (Sun) 17:00 JST (UTC +9:00) 　Application deadline
Early May　First screening by ACAC curatorial staff
Late May　Second screening by guest judge and ACAC director/curatorial staff
Late June　Selection of invitees and notification of results

5. How to Apply

Screening by application form contents and a portfolio of up to 5 works.
* Please submit the following application form with portfolio no later than April 13 (Sun) 2025 17:00 JST (UTC +9:00).
* If you are unable to submit the application through Google Forms, please contact us through the Inquiry form on the ACAC website.

Application Form：https://forms.gle/bLsQGpnNqNn7LEi78

Notes

・Before applying, please read the Application Guidelines, Application Form Instructions, and Notes on Completing the Application Form carefully.
・A confirmation message will be displayed once the application form has been successfully submitted. A copy of your completed form will be sent by email to the address you entered on the form. If you do not receive an email, please check your spam folder before contacting us.

6. Screening and Notification

Based on submitted materials, artists will be selected by 2025 guest judge Ikeda Kaho and the ACAC director and curatorial staff. Applicants will be informed of the final decision by email in late June, 2025.

7. Application Requirements

a. Applicants must be individuals or groups engaged in artistic pursuits, including artists, curators, researchers, etc., regardless of background or genre. (Hereafter referred to as “the artist.”)
b. The artist must understand the purpose of their visit to ACAC and be able to reside and participate during the duration of the residence period.
*Remote participation will be allowed if the organizer deems it to be necessary.
c. The artist must present the results produced during their residency at the Results Presentation, which is scheduled to be held at the Aomori Citizens’ Art Gallery. (Results may be presented in any format, including exhibitions of artwork, performances, workshops, or presentations of research or production processes.) Additionally, the artist will participate in a panel discussion with the guest judge and other artists during the Results Presentation period.
d. The artist must be able to communicate in English or Japanese.
e. The artist must be in good health. (Please consult with us in advance if you require special support)
f. The artist must cooperate with ACAC staff in the setup and cleanup of exhibitions or events held during the residence period.
g. The artist must be willing and able to share the communal residence facilities with the other artists during the residence period.

8. About the Results Presentation

Venue: Aomori Citizens’ Art Gallery
Presentation period: November 14 (Fri) – November 29 (Sat)
* Installation: November 4 (Tue) – November 13 (Thu); Removal: November 30 (Sun) – December 1 (Mon)
* The Results Presentation, as well as installation and removal, will take place during the venue’s regular hours of operation (09:00 – 20:00).
* The specific configuration of the venue will be determined in consultation with ACAC staff and the Aomori Citizens’ Art Gallery.

9. Obligations of the Organizer and the Artist

The Organizer and the Artist will carry out the program upon entering into a contract which includes the following mutual obligations, which they thereby agree to adhere to throughout the duration of the program. The costs to be borne by the Organizer are calculated based on the assumption that successful applicants will come alone to Aomori; therefore, in principle, it is not possible for others to accompany the Artists during their residency. Artists can apply as a group or unit; in this case, the organizer considers 1 artist group or unit as 1 artist, and provides expenses (travel expenses, production expenses, exchange program expenses, living expenses) for 1 person only. 
If successful applicants wish to be accompanied by family members, assistants, etc., they must consult with ACAC before traveling to Aomori. Should ACAC approve the Artist’s request, the accompanying individuals may stay at ACAC’s facilities. In this case, the Artist will bear the travel expenses and accommodation expenses (2,040 JPY per person per night) of the accompanying individual(s). 
All monetary amounts noted in these guidelines include tax.
* Please see the Program Overview and Application Guidelines 2025 for details.

10. About Aomori Contemporary Art Center

Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (ACAC) is an art center offering a flagship Artist in Residence (AIR) program through its residential art facility. Since its foundation in 2001, the program has been an active platform for a diverse range of artists in their creative pursuits and presentations. Located in the foothills of the Hakkoda Mountains, residents can enjoy a rich natural environment while still being close to the center of Aomori City. ACAC’s architectural design is the work of internationally-acclaimed architect, ANDO Tadao, and features the concept of “invisible architecture”. The center consists of a production studio (Creative Hall) and an accommodation facility (Residential Hall), encouraging interactions with others while providing a comfortable space for visitors to focus on their creative work.
ACAC’s AIR program is an initiative expected to foster a variety of expressive activities which can only be realized in this unique environment. The center aims to be an inspirational space for all involved, emphasizing interactions between domestic/international artists and local communities. Since 2009, when ACAC’s management was transferred from Aomori City to Aomori Public University, ACAC has also been conducting exchanges with students studying at the university in fields such as management, economics and regional development.

11. Contact and Inquiries

For inquiries regarding application to this program, please contact us using the Inquiry form on the ACAC website.
* Please note that we are unable to respond to inquiries by telephone.

Inquiry form: https://acac-aomori.jp/inquiry/

*We plan to upload a facility introduction video for ACAC in early March.