ART AWARD TOKYO MARUNOUCHI 2026 to be Held: 20 Carefully Selected Works from National Art University Graduate Exhibitions Gather in Marunouchi

Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. will host "ART AWARD TOKYO MARUNOUCHI 2026" (hereafter, AATM) from Monday, May 25 to Sunday, June 21.

【What is AATM?】

Started in 2007, it is a contemporary art exhibition aimed at discovering and nurturing young artists. Judges visit graduate and completion exhibitions at major art universities and graduate schools nationwide, and then select works from the nominated entries to be displayed in Marunouchi. A final judging by the panel then determines the Grand Prix and various juror awards.

Marking its 20th anniversary, AATM will this year showcase 20 carefully selected works from 200 nominated pieces across 18 schools nationwide. On the opening day, May 25 (Monday), the Grand Prix and other awards will be decided from these 20 works, followed by an awards ceremony.

Additionally, during the exhibition period, a special exhibition "AATM2026 Satellite Exhibition" will be held at Espace 1894 of the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, featuring artists who participated in the inaugural AATM and are still active today.

Marunouchi will continue to create opportunities for encounters with art as a hub for culture and art dissemination, expanding the possibilities for young artists. We invite you to enjoy this opportunity to experience the fresh and innovative sensibilities of the next generation of artists all gathered in one place.

Details of the nominated works can be found at: https://www.marunouchi.com/pickup/event/9604/

＜Scene from 2025 event＞

ART AWARD TOKYO MARUNOUCHI 2025 Grand Prix winner Erica Ainami's "serious and unimportant" exhibition image.

■ "ART AWARD TOKYO MARUNOUCHI 2026" Event Outline

＜Dates＞ May 25 (Mon) – June 21 (Sun), 2026, 11:00 – 20:00

*Viewing hours may be subject to change.

＜Exhibition Venue＞ Gyoko-dori Underground Gallery

＜Admission＞ Free

＜Organizer＞ Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.

＜Sponsors＞ Obayashi Corporation, I-Style Art and Culture Foundation, Kawamura Culture and Arts Foundation, Daiwa Securities Group, Nomi Bosai Co., Ltd., Marunouchi Net Supply Co., Ltd.

＜Support＞ Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum / Embassy of France in Japan / Institut français de Tokyo

＜Website＞ https://www.marunouchi.com/pickup/event/9604/

＜Gyoko-dori Underground Gallery＞

Directly connected to JR Tokyo Station underground passage, immediately outside the Marunouchi Line ticket gate.

This is a gallery space in the underground passage connecting the "Maru Building" and "Shin Maru Building" in front of Tokyo Station.

■ AATM2026 Satellite Exhibition

A special exhibition will be held introducing works by four artists who participated in the very first AATM in 2007 and continue to be active today.

＜Dates and Times＞ May 25 (Mon) – June 21 (Sun), 2026, 10:00 – 18:00 *Open throughout the exhibition period, admission free

＜Venue＞ Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum Espace 1894

＜Exhibiting Artists＞ Yusuke Komuta / Sawako Tanizawa / Maya Nukumizu / Yu Yasuda

【Judges】

Yusaku Imamura (Former Vice President, Tokyo University of the Arts)

Eriko Kimura (Director, Hirosaki Brick Warehouse Museum of Art)

Shigeo Goto (Editor, Creative Director, Honorary Professor, Kyoto University of the Arts)

Tomio Koyama (Representative, Tomio Koyama Gallery; Advisor, Japan Contemporary Art Dealers Association)

Akiya Tatehata (Honorary Professor, Tama Art University)

Tomoko Yabumae (Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo)

Yusuke Komuta (Artist, Exhibitor at AATM2007)

Yuko Ikeda (Director, Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum)

【Comments from Judges after the First Screening】

■ Shigeo Goto

Since ancient times, excellent artists have been likened to "canaries in a coal mine." This comes from miners who used canaries to predict impending disasters underground. Every time I encounter artists' works at graduate and completion exhibitions at art universities nationwide during the ART AWARD TOKYO MARUNOUCHI judging, I am made to wonder what future these works foretell. However, the future can no longer be simple. This is because we have arrived at a society where truth and fake, invisible and visible, good and evil, enemy and friend, self and world, hope and despair are not binary oppositions but are all intertwined and inseparable.

What strongly impressed me during this year's AATM judging were the artists' struggles and works to somehow visualize this complexity. Monotonous, crowd-pleasing works lacked appeal, while works that pursued more complex paths seemed to hold possibilities and shine. I was once again reminded that the power of art gathered at AATM is its ability to make us feel an unending world.

■ Akiya Tatehata
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