AOKI Tamotsu / Commissioner for Cultural Affairs
“Japan Cool” – Japanese media arts, in the form of animation, manga, and video games, is highly regarded abroad. They also provide a conduit through which people all over the world can become acquainted with Japan.
The Japan Media Arts Festival has been held annually since 1997; it was established in order to encourage the creation and development of media arts through the commendation of deserving works of art, entertainment, animation, and manga. Celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, the exhibition is being held for the first time at The National Art Center, Tokyo.
The number of entries has gradually increased over the years, having reached 2,091 entries this year, which included 429 applications from 42 countries and regions outside of Japan, which reflects the international recognition the festival has achieved. As the years go by, the entries are becoming increasingly varied and of a higher standard.
It is our hope that there will be many visitors to this exhibition and that they will be able to enjoy and experience a selection of media arts works, as well as the events and symposiums in which some of the artists will be participating.
In closing, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all those who have generously extended their support and cooperation to help with the administration and hosting of this year’s Japan Media Arts Festival.
HAYASHIDA Hideki / Director, The National Art Center, Tokyo
It is our great pleasure to be able, for the first time, to hold the exhibition of the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival this year at The National Art Center, Tokyo which was opened in January 2007.
One of our most significant activities is holding exhibitions that focus on cutting edge art. We regard the Japan Media Arts Festival as an important project for the Art Center, as it accords with this purpose. Prior to this, we hosted the “Japan Media Arts Festival 10th Anniversary Special Project: The Power of Expression, JAPAN – The Fusion and Evolution of Art/Entertainment/Animation/Manga” as part of our opening exhibition, which was visited by over 60,000 people.
The Japan Media Arts Festival has developed both in size and content over the last ten years and The National Art Center, Tokyo is going to exert itself on behalf of the Japan Media Arts Festival to ensure it makes further strides forward.
We hope that this exhibition is seen by a great many people and we would like to express our gratitude to those who helped make the opening of this exhibition possible.
NAGATA Keiji / Chairman, CG-ARTS Society
The Japan Media Arts Festival started in 1997 on a small scale which would never be imagined from its current dimensions, but the enthusiasm of people involved, including members of the planning committee and the jury, was high.
Already in other countries, festivals featuring media arts and digital content on a broad scale existed and have established appreciation, but all the interested people shared the idea to create a festival which has the uniqueness of Japan.
For that purpose, not following the examples of other precedent festivals, we started by renewing our own history and culture and considered the scheme of genres and what the measures of assessment would be.
To treat various fields such as art, entertainment, animation, and manga equally and reward good works as “media arts.” Evaluate works chiefly by their quality, making no distinction between professional and amateur, or individual work and commercial work. Keep changing in line with the times. These are the fundamental concepts of the Japan Media Arts Festival.
After 11 years of our history, the Festival has grown into an event which attracts greater than 2,000 entries from 43 countries and areas globally. I believe that we have focused on the originality which is rooted in the culture of Japan and that is how the Festival became a challenger on the world scene.
The Japan Media Arts Festival will keep evolving in the future.
Keeping pace with the development of media and technology, the culture and presentation will keep changing constantly. I hope that the Japan Media Arts Festival will continue to be a celebration where a great number of talents gather from across the world in response to the changing times.
