Guest Judge IWAMA Asako

I consider the theme of “EAT” within the conditions of our present moment in 2026: intensifying natural disasters caused by climate change, increasing militarization, the pursuit of efficiency through technology, and a society increasingly driven by speed and measurable outcomes. We need to reconsider what sustains our lives, and ask ourselves again what kinds of labor and environments make our everyday existence possible. For this year’s selection process, through ongoing conversations with the Director and curatorial team at Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (ACAC), I focused on artists who engage with their relationships to nature and society through practice, and who seek alternative form of living.

HUANG Zhixiao is a Japan-based artist who has explored questions of labor and survival in urban spaces, particularly through her engagement with elderly workers and structures of exclusion within cities. For this project, she takes wheat as a starting point to investigate the histories and power relations that exist behind the act of “eating.” I was drawn to her approach of rethinking food through the tactile process of kneading wheat by hand. Her practice carries a sense of humor and warmth that opens up relationships between people, as well as a lightness in approaching complex social issues.

INOUE Ami has developed projects that explore the relationships between hunting, memorial practices, food, and human beings, based on her experience of no longer being able to eat wild boar in her hometown following the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, when concerns over radioactive contamination transformed the relationship between local people and wild boar as food. Focusing on the increasing population of wild boar in Aomori, she follows changing relationships with wildlife in a contemporary world where the boundaries of what can be considered edible are shifting, while also recovering forms of knowledge and experience that are gradually disappearing through the practices of hunting, dismantling, cooking, and eating. Her reflections quietly invite us to reconsider our own ways of being.

Daegan WELLS, who continues his artistic practice while farming in southern New Zealand, explores how food production and agriculture shape landscapes and social structures through his daily labor and observations. Walking is one of his methods for understanding the land. Through the movement of his own body, he forms relationships with places within rhythms of time that differ from a society where speed and efficiency are prioritized. I was inspired by the way his artistic practice is deeply intertwined with everyday life, allowing the act of living, working, and observing to become a way of understanding the world.

Athens-born artist Anna HOUSIADA explores knowledge and relationships that emerge within communities through dialogue and participatory practices. Her work addresses themes such as the politics of care, belonging, and cultural hybridity, informed by the ideas of Process Work. Rather than focusing on a completed form, she values the insights and learning that arise through exchange and being together. I felt that this attitude closely resonates with her role as a Mediator in this year’s program.

What these artists share is their commitment to analogue approaches and the inseparability of artistic practice from everyday life. Through diverse practices such as farming, hunting, beekeeping, livestock raising, and involvement in social movements, they each respond sensitively to what is overlooked by systems that prioritize efficiency above all else. As they encounter one another at the foot of Mount Hakkoda in Aomori, I sense the possibility that their experiences and perspectives will intersect, creating relationships that continue to grow beyond this encounter.

HATTORI Hiroyuki (ACAC director)

For this year’s Open-call Artist in Residence (AIR), we tested out two new changes to the application process.
First, we set a clear application theme. Every year for over 20 years, a program title would be provided as a hint to applicants, with keywords serving as guidelines for their activities. However, these were not intended to significantly influence the artists’ residency activities, but rather to be broadly interpretable, allowing many people to apply. By making “EAT” – a word describing a concrete action which is essential for all living things – the theme of this year’s program, we were able to receive many unique proposals related to eating and the food ecosystem.
The second change was the introduction of a “Mediator framework,” which does not require the creation or presentation of artwork. This framework encouraged applications from creatives who were interested in focusing on research or in building relationships with the other artists and the local community.
I was sympathetic to the many proposals which resonated with ACAC’s concerns, such as human/non-human coexistence and decolonialization. At the same time, I also felt that many of the applicants shared similar mindsets and values, and worried that their results might become somewhat homogenous.
Nevertheless, I think we were able to gain the participation of creators who will treat the theme of “EAT” seriously, not just as some passing thought, as they attempt to engage with the society of the future. I am anxiously awaiting the start of this AIR in September.

OkURO Yuka (ACAC curator)

I am again struck by the diverse interpretations of this year’s theme, “EAT.” This theme is not limited to one specific subject area; it can be related to everything from the behaviors that mediate the relationships between humans and other species, to childrearing, housework, religious belief, and even underlying power structures. During the selection process, our discussions revolved around the value of implementing a given residence plan in Aomori and at ACAC, and around the timeliness of the plan in terms of the applicant’s artistic career. Personally, I also focused on whether there was leeway for the applicant to change their methods or lines of inquiry as a result of their interactions with others during the residency. Many proposals incorporated engagement with the history, culture, and people of Aomori into their creative activities, and I was particularly drawn to those proposals which suggested that such engagement could influence the artists’ own questions, approaches to collaboration, and paths to expression in ways that took their plans beyond their original concepts.
I feel that, while the proposals selected for this year’s program all have a clear sense of purpose, they also leave room for the artists to positively incorporate the encounters they experience during their residencies into their creative processes. What kinds of developments will such encounters lead to in an AIR environment? I look forward to being a part of these processes as I support the artists in their work.

SETOU Tomo (ACAC curator)

On this year’s Open-call application form, we added a new question asking applicants about the necessity of conducting their residency plans specifically at ACAC. This was based on the sentiment, following last year’s program, that the question of how a proposed plan could be achieved in this setting depended largely on the imaginations of the judges for its answer. I believe this new question has given us a somewhat clearer understanding of the applicants’ intentions. For ACAC, which is centered around AIR activities, it is important to review and make small improvements to our application process in this way every year.

Befitting the wide range of activities associated with this year’s theme, “EAT,” we received proposals that linked the applicants’ practices to the theme in various ways. Some made me want to help the applicants as they proposed to face new challenges through this theme. On the other hand, proposals which evolved out of the applicants’ everyday practices stood out even more, precisely because – as guest judge IWAMA Asako noted during our conversations together – “eating” is such a fundamental life-sustaining act. As ACAC’s changing relationship with the surrounding natural environment brings with it changes to our residents’ working environment, I hope to help the selected artists continue to develop and enrich their work.

HARADA Momomi (ACAC curator)

Selection always reflects the attitudes of those who do the selecting. The work of deciding what kinds of proposals to adopt from the many various submissions is also a kind of process that gives new form to ACAC year after year. This form is contingent on ACAC’s spatial limits and characteristics, the critical awareness of the judges, social and global trends, and the balance between all of these factors.

The guest judges play a large role in this process every year. For this year’s program, IWAMA Asako served as the guest judge and participated in the second round of applicant screening. Iwama generously shared her insights about food and eating, accumulated over many years of artistic practice in Europe. Her interpretations of each artist’s plans included aspects that had not been brought up in the first screening, allowing us to have many productive conversations during the selection process.

As is the case every year, there were many impressive proposals which were not ultimately selected. We received promising plans from the literary field – which ACAC has rarely had opportunities to explore – as well as proposals whose sincerity and depth are clearly the result of years of dedicated artistic practice. Considering that our AIR program accepts all expressive genres and age groups, I, as an ACAC staff member, hope to continue opening our doors to an even wider range of creative voices.