TOKYO ARTS AND SPACEPRESS RELEASE

2024/1/17

The winners of the fifth TCAA are Umeda Tetsuya and Oh Haji!
Established in 2018, the Tokyo Contemporary Art Award (TCAA) is dedicated to supporting mid-career artists, including
aiding in expanding their careers into international arenas. For the TCAA 2024-2026, Lesley Ma, Associate Curator
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, joined the selection committee. After thorough studio visits and interviews by thesix-member committee, Umeda Tetsuya and Oh Haji were selected as the award winners. The award ceremony andsymposium are scheduled on 2/17(Sat).

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 aremarkable talent for interpreting and creatively transforming the physical constraints of space. Evincing an ethicalapproach, 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 understandingof 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 andimmigration. Oh’s extensive research into textile techniques and materials, viewed as elements of material culture, herhigh 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 itsintersectional approach to examining class and labor, which has the potential to forge connections with history, as wellas with contemporary issues related to gender, migration, and environmental concerns.
<Press Contact>
F u n a b a s h i (M s . ) , I c h ik a w a ( M s . ) , N a k a m u r a ( M s . ) P R s e c t i o n ,To k y o A r t s a n d S p a c e (Museum of Contemporar y A r t Tokyo, Tokyo Met r opol i t an F oundat i on f or Hi st or y and Cul t ur e)4 -1 -1 M i y o s h i , K o t o - k u , To k y o 1 3 5 - 0 0 2 2
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TOKYO ARTS AND SPACEPRESS RELEASE

2024/1/17

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 ofnationality, attributes, and gender identity, and their works present strong aspirations to extend their own motivation toother 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 theother 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 withpeople who do not share a Japanese context.
TAKAHASHI Mizuki［Executive Director and Chief Curator, Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT)］Award Ceremony and Symposium
Date：2024/2/17(Sat)Time：［Award Ceremony］14:00-14:30（Doors open at 13:30）［Symposium］14:40-16:10
Venue：Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, B2F Auditorium (4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto-ku, Tokyo）*Admission Free / Reservations required / First-come-first-served basis / With Japanese-English interpretater◼️ Symposium
At this symposium, we will reflect on the overall evaluations provided by the TCAA 2024-2026 selection committee
members and on the key points discussed during the selection, including ‘contemporaneity,’ ‘sociality,’ ‘agency,’ andother relevant factors. Additionally, both of the award-winning artists will provide insights into their respective works
and creative processes.
［Panelists］
Wi n n e r s : UMEDA Tetsuya (Online)
OH HajiInternational Selection Committee:
NOMURA Shino (Senior Curator, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery)
WASHIDA Meruro (Director, Towada Art Center / Associate Professor, Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts)
KONDO Yuki (Program Director, Tokyo Arts and Space)
Moderator: SHIOMI Yuko (Director, Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT] / TCAA Selection Secretariat)< How to apply >Please make your reservations for the event via the TCAA website.
Bookings are open from 1/25(Thu) until 2/15(Thu).
Booking Form：https://tokyocontemporaryartaward.jp/news/form/1738

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2024/1/17

Winners’ Profiles
UMEDA Tetsuya
Born in Kumamoto in 1980.
Umeda produces installations that are inspired by and incorporate existing elements
found in the environment and circumstances surrounding the exhibition space including
its architectural structure. In addition to exhibitions in museums and art institutions, hehas produced numerous site-specific works based on the context of both urban spaces
and the natural environment. Performance works are presented in Japan and abroad,such as tours inviting the audience to unfamiliar places, stage works focusing on functions
found in theaters, and chorus projects without a center point. He is also internationally
Photo: Tanaka Chihiro

renowned as a leading artist in the field of sound art.

Recent exhibitions: Solo Exhibition “wait this is my favorite part,” WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary
Art, Tokyo, 2023, “Oku-Noto Triennale 2023,” Suzu, Ishikawa, Solo Exhibition “Tetsuya Umeda in BEPPU ‘0 Tai’,”Beppu, Oita, 2020, Solo Exhibition “On the origin of voices,” Fukuoka Art Museum, 2019, “Taiwan East Coast Land
Arts Festival 2018,” Taidong, Taiwan. Recent perfomance: “Kunstenfestivaldesarts 2017 ‘Composite: Variations /Circle’,” Brussels, and more.

1. Installation view at “wait this is my favorite part , ” WATARI-UM, The WatariMuseum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 2023 Photo: Goto Shuji

2. Floor 0, 2020, installation view at “Saitama Triennale 2020,” Former Omiya ward
office Photo: MARUO Ryuichi

3. Installation view at “On the origin of voices,” Fukuoka Art Museum, 2019
Photo: Yamanaka Shintaro (Qsyum!)4. Things that don't know, 2017, installation view at “Sapporo International ArtFestival 2017,” Kinichikan Bldg. Photo: Yoshisato Komaki

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TOKYO ARTS AND SPACEPRESS RELEASE

2024/1/17

Winners’ ProfilesOH Haji
Born in Osaka in 1976.
Earned her PhD in Fine Arts from Kyoto City University of Arts in 2012.
Oh creates installation works utilizing textile-making techniques such as weaving,dyeing and unravelling, as well as photographs/cyanotype, texts and sounds. Drawing
on her background as a third-generation Zainichi Korean, she creates artworks togive expression to the untold memories – silent memories – of women and unnamedindividuals. She explores the concept of post-memory by sharing experiences anddialogue through a collaborative process of community workshops. Currently, she isPhoto: KIOKU Keizo

based in Japan and Australia for her art practices.

Recent exhibitions: “KANTEN 観展 : The Limits of History,” Apexart, New York, 2023, “Roppongi Crossing 2022, Coming &Going,” Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, “Publicness of the Art Center phase Ⅱ,” Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower of Mito,
2019, Solo Exhibition “Memories in Weaving,” Kurumaya Museum of Art, Oyama City, Tochigi, 2019, “Binding threads/Expanding threads: The art of creating ‘Between-ness’,” Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, 2017, Solo
Exhibition “The imaginary landscape- grandmother island,” MATSUO MEGUMI +VOICE GALLERY pfs/w, Kyoto, 2017,and more.

5. Seabird Habitats, 2022, installation view at “Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming &Going,” Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Photo: KIOKU Keizo Photo courtesy: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

7. Nautical Map, 2017-2019
Photo: Shinya Kigure Photo courtesy: Kurumaya Museum of Art, Oyama City

6. A House of Memory Traces, 2019 Photo: Yuzuru Nemoto
Photo courtesy: Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito

8. Wearing Memory, 2014 Photo: Tadasu Yamamoto

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2024/1/17

About TCAA
TCAA was established by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyo Arts and Space (Museum of ContemporaryArt Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) in 2018 as a contemporary art award for mid-career
artists active in Japan whose work, including work developed overseas, inspires expectations of potential for evengreater achievements. Particular importance is given to the need to provide the best possible support at the optimal
time in the artists’ career. The selection process includes research on the artists and visits to their studios by membersof the international selection committee, to deepen their understanding of the artist’s thinking, style, and career stage.
The winners will receive several years of continuous support, including, in addition to funding for overseas activities,
the opportunity to show their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and the publication of a monograph.

About TCAA 2024-2026
After an open call for applications in June 2023, nominees were selected upon recommendation and much deliberation
among the selection committee members. The two winners were chosen after a series of preliminary screenings andvirtual and in-person studio visits and interviews with the artists.
[ Award Details ]1）Monetary prize: ¥3,000,0002）Support for overseas activities: Up to ¥2,000,000 (travel, accommodation, research and production expenses)
3）An award exhibition to be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
4）Publication of a monograph (After holding the Exhibition), support for spread the artists abroad[ Schedule ][ International Selection Committee ]*Positions and titles current as of the time of the 2023 selection process.

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, Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT)］WASHIDA Meruro［Director, Towada Art Center / Associate Professor, Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts］
KONDO Yuki［Program Director, Tokyo Arts and Space］[ Winners ]1st TCAA 2019-2021

KAZAMA Sachiko/ SHITAMICHI Motoyuki

2nd TCAA 2020-2022

FUJII Hikaru/ YAMASHIRO Chikako

3rd TCAA 2021-2023

SHIGA Lieko/ TAKEUCHI Kota

4th TCAA 2022–2024 Saeborg/ TSUDA Michiko*The exhibition of Saeborg and Tsuda Michiko, the fourth winners of the TCAA will be held at the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art starting from 2024/3/30(Sat).
For further information, please visit the TCAA website.

[ Selection Secretariat ]Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]5

「Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2024-2026」
Award winners announced
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