Aichi Triennale – Press Release / December 10, 2021

Announcement:
Ambassadors for Aichi Triennale 2022
December 10, 2021 Aichi, Japan – Aichi Triennale 2022 has invited prominent people from various fields
with a passion for the arts to become ambassadors for Aichi Triennale 2022.
From now on the ambassadors will promote Aichi Triennale 2022 in their respective activities.

Aichi Triennale 2022 Ambassadors
As of December 10, 2021 in alphabetical orderimma (Virtual Model)
I’m very grateful to have been chosen as an ambassador.
Art has the power to cross all kinds of borders.
As a virtual human, I can also cross the border from the virtual world to thereal world and vice versa.
The act of crossing such borders in the first place, I believe, is the start of bigpossibilities.
Profileimma is Japan’s first virtual model, easily identifiable with her signature pink bob but it’s not easy to tell she is virtual.
Always collaborating with top artists and brands, her realness and authenticity in a world of virtually unreal social media
makes her also a contrarian voice for the future.
She is Asia’s No.1 influential virtual human and her actions have led to her being selected one of the Women of the Year
2020 by Forbes Women published by Forbes Poland and starred in Tokyo 2020 Paralympics closing ceremony.

Kawase Naomi (Filmmaker)
Art has the power to touch people. It has the ability to move and enrich ourevery day. The challenge of Aichi Triennale 2022 will be in becoming
guardians of this art, drawing in its many energies to re-invigorate this place.
The power to create the future lies in the present. And in the present can befound the power to change our past. It is this hope that I hold for Aichi
Triennale 2022.

Photo: ©LESLIE KEE

Kondo Seiichi

ProfileIn Nara - where she was born and raised - Naomi Kawase continues to make her films. Her pursuit to capture reality
through film beyond simplistic documentary-fiction dichotomies, has received wide-acclaim, including at the Cannes
Film Festival. While continuing to expand her activities, she remains deeply rooted in her hometown where she began
the Nara International Film Festival and the Youth Filmmaking Workshop to nurture the next generation. She is theofficial Film Director of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, a Thematic Producer for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai World Expo,
the President of the Women’s Japanese Basketball League and the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In her private life,
she is also a mother of one who enjoys cooking.

Director of the Kondo Institute for Culture & Diplomacy,
Former Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan.
It is a great honor to be appointed Aichi Triennale 2022 Ambassador.
Humans are facing serious problems of environmental degradation andsocial division.
I will do my best to make this festival a platform for the arts to exert its fullpower to free ourselves from the endless pursuit of wealth and narrowobsessions that are causing these problems.
ProfileFormer Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan (2010-2013). Other positions he has held include: Deputy
Secretary-General of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in Paris, Minister at theEmbassy of Japan in the United States, Ambassador to UNESCO (2006-2008) and to Denmark (2008-2010). Afterretirement, Kondo taught at the University of Tokyo, Keio University, Tokyo University of the Arts, etc. He was appointedPresident of the Professional Institute of International Fashion (2019). He has received Legion d'honneur Chevalier fromthe French Government, and The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star from the Japanese Government.

1Aichi Triennale – Press Release / December 10, 2021

Kuma Kengo (Architect)
I would like to cherish Aichi.
Through art, I want to show the power of the place of Aichi to the world.

Photo: © J. C. Carbonne

ProfileKengo Kuma was born in 1954. He established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. He is currently a University Professor andProfessor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo after teaching at Keio University and the University of Tokyo. KKAA projects are
currently underway in more than 30 countries. Kengo Kuma proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between
nature, technology, and human beings. His major publications include Ten Sen Men (“point, line, plane”, Iwanami Shoten), Hitono Sumika (“shelters for people”, Shincho Shinsho), Makeru Kenchiku (Architecture of Defeat, Iwanami Shoten), Shizen na
Kenchiku (Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), Chii-sana Kenchiku (Small Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho) and manyothers.

Kusano Mitsuyo (Freelance Announcer)
The last two years, faced with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, havebeen a time of agony, during which we have questioned ourselves about themeaning of life.
My hope is that by standing in front of artworks and connecting with them,
I can gain the strength to be still alive in the future.
ProfileJoined NHK, Japan’s public broadcasting corporation, in 1989. As an announcer, Kusano fronted Ohayo Nippon (GoodMorning, Japan), NHK Sunday Sports, Kohaku Uta Gassen (a team singing contest on New Year’s Eve), and the Olympics.
After leaving NHK, she became a freelancer and signed an exclusive contract with the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)News Department. She presented Chikushi Tetsuya News 23 for 9 years. Currently, Kusano is the navigator of Gohan Japan(Food Culture Japan) on TV Asahi. She is also the vice president of the Japan Sports Association, a board member of theJin-Bun-Chi forum, and a member of the Council for Infrastructure of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism.

Nagaoka Kenmei (Director of D&DEPARTMENT, Design activist
Aichi Prefecture is where Agui-cho, Chita County is located, and I grew up
there until the age of 18. It is also a place that is steeped in a long history ofcreative activity, most notably weaving.
I will do my best to support the fashioning of further works of creativity inAichi.
ProfileIn 2000, Nagaoka founded the D&DEPARTMENT PROJECT with the theme of long-life design. He published the travel
culture magazine d design travel in 2009. Since 2012, he has conceived and managed d47 MUSEUM, Japan’s firstregional design museum, which permanently exhibits the character of 47 prefectures at Shibuya Hikarie 8/. As part ofthe process of establishing a base in each of the 47 prefectures, he has been reviewing the individuality and long-lasting,
local design of each of the 47 prefectures and introducing them to the rest of Japan through product sales, restaurants,
publishing, and tourism. Received the Mainichi Design Award in 2013.

Nishitakatsuji Nobuhiro (Chief priest of Dazaifu Tenmangu)
Art always reflects the times and constantly brings us new lessons to learn.
As an ambassador, I hope that Aichi Triennale 2022 will provide many
people with hints on how to live robustly in a future full of possibilities bylearning through art.

Photo: Kazuo Matsumoto

ProfileNishitakatsuji Nobuhiro is the 40th generation descendant of Sugawara Michizane, the deity of Dazaifu Tenmangu.
Graduated from the Faculty of Letters, The University of Tokyo.
After obtained a Master’s degree in Shinto Studies and a priesthood qualification from the Graduate School ofKokugakuin University, he started to serve at Dazaifu Tenmangu. In addition to his ritual practices as a Shinto priest, heis actively involved in planning art exhibitions and community development. On April 1, 2019, he was appointed Chief
Priest of Dazaifu Tenmangu.

2Aichi Triennale – Press Release / December 10, 2021

[Aichi Triennale 2022 Outline]
Theme:STILL ALIVE

Artistic Director:
Kataoka Mami (Director, Mori Art Museum / President, CIMAM)

Exhibition Dates:
July 30, 2022 ‒ October 10, 2022

Main Venues:
Aichi Arts Center, Ichinomiya City, Tokoname City, Arimatsu (Nagoya City)

Organizer:
Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee

Press Contact
Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee ‒ Public Relations
E-mail: press@aichitriennale.jp
Web https://aichitriennale.jp/en/
Address 1-13-2 Higashi-sakura, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-8525, Japan3