Odawara Nodoka and Yamada Yuri selected as Inaugural NCAR × AWARE Women Artists Research Fellows

Yamada examines women photographers active primarily in the Meiji period and into the early Shōwa period. Through research on exhibitions and relevant publications, she organizes the current state of evaluation and scholarship, and, by conducting archival analysis focusing on Shima Ryū, Hanawa Yoshino, and Yamamoto Kotome as key case studies, clarifies the role of women’s photographic practices in the formation of modern Japanese photographic culture.

The Fellowship aims to strengthen scholarship about women artists in Japan and contribute to the global advancement of art historical research through more diverse and inclusive perspectives. NCAR and AWARE invited research proposals from researchers and curators residing in Japan, whose projects focus on visual artists with a connection to Japan who self-identify as women or non-binary. Research funding of up to EUR 5,000 will be provided during the one-year research period. The research outcomes will be published on both the websites of NCAR and AWARE to foster wider public and academic engagement.

Selection Committee Members

In Japanese order, honorifics omitted; affiliations as of the time of the selection committee

Amada Marina, Representative of AWARE Japan, Curator
Otani Shogo, Head of Collections Group, NCAR; Deputy Director, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Kokatsu Reiko, Art Historian, Art Critic
Tatehata Akira, Director, Yayoi Kusama Museum
Nakamachi Keiko, Professor Emeritus, Jissen Women’s University; Special Director, Akita Museum of Modern Art
Mizuno Ryoko, Associate Professor, Japan Women’s University