Notice of Resignation of YPAM Director Hiromi Maruoka

Hiromi Maruoka, who has served as the director of the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting (YPAM; formerly Tokyo Performing Arts Market / Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama / TPAM) since 2005, resigned from her position on March 31. Moving forward, YPAM will be operated under a new structure in which the current team will assume directorial functions.

Farewell Message from YPAM Director Hiromi Maruoka

I have been involved with YPAM for 30 years, counting from its inception in 1995 as the "Tokyo Performing Arts Market (TPAM)." It has been 20 years since I took on the role of director in 2005. As an international platform for performing arts professionals—the only one of its kind in this country—we moved our venue to Yokohama in 2011. Throughout our history, while overcoming various challenges, we have gradually evolved our content in response to the changes and demands of the times. I am convinced that our ability to maintain a space where people involved in the performing arts from all over the world can gather regularly is due to the close collaboration with everyone involved in the performing arts and our audience. I am proud of what we have achieved together above all else. As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to the world. Despite such circumstances, the staff who joined us anew and the members who had supported this project until then became one, and this team took the lead in guiding YPAM to its next stage. In light of this, I have decided to step down as director. Under its new structure, YPAM will continue to work toward the development of the performing arts and international exchange more than ever before. I would like to express my gratitude once again to everyone who has supported YPAM. Thank you very much.

Hiromi Maruoka

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. From 1989 to 1998, she worked as a producer and actor for the theater company Kaitai-sha. She joined the Japan Performing Arts Foundation (NPO) in 1991 and became its president in 2011. From 2003 to 2004, she trained in New York under the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists. She has been involved as a staff member since the first Tokyo Performing Arts Market (TPAM), the predecessor to the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting (YPAM), in 1995, and became the TPAM director in 2005. She is the Vice President of the Open Network for Performing Arts Management (ON-PAM). Other projects she has worked on include the Post Mainstream Performing Arts Festival, the IETM Asia Satellite Meeting, and Sound Live Tokyo. Recipient of the 2024 (75th) Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize.

■ YPAM Staff

Katsuhiro Ohira (Secretary General)

Tomoyuki Arai (Senior Program Officer)

Ryo Tanaka (Program Officer)

Hayato Okada (Program Officer)

Shiro Amamiya (Public Relations)

Zhiying Zhao (Public Relations)

Kimiko Arai (Operations and Systems Manager)

■ YPAM 2027 Dates

February 5, 2027 (Fri) – February 14, 2027 (Sun)

About YPAM

YPAM (Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting) is a platform where performing arts professionals from Japan and abroad interact through performance programs and meetings to gain information, inspiration, and networks for the creation, dissemination, and revitalization of the performing arts. It began in Tokyo in 1995 as TPAM (Tokyo Performing Arts Market) and moved to the "Creative City" of Yokohama in 2011. After 30 years of history, it is internationally recognized as one of the most influential performing arts platforms in Asia.