Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS), operated by a division of The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, offers artist-in-residence programs for international creators working in various creative fields to stay, engage in creation, and conduct research activities in Tokyo. It also provides creators with the opportunities to exchange creative ideas and to present outcomes of their residency at TOKAS-organized events, such as the OPEN STUDIO. 

The open-call program “Curator Residency Program” aims to invite distinguished and highly motivated curators in the fields of curation, art criticism, and cultural research from all over the world and offer them with opportunities to conduct research in Tokyo. 

We provide financial support to allow curators to develop and present their research and ideas. 

Selected curators are required to give mentoring sessions to local emerging creators, and deliver a public talk. 

1. Target for this program This program is aimed at those curators -who are eager to exchange with local emerging creators -who are willing to conduct new research in Tokyo -who practice in any of the following cultural / artistic fields: curation, art criticism and cultural research

 2. Residency Period / Number of Curators [Residency Period] 1 to 3 months within the following residency periods:

 ① From the beginning of May, 2026 to the end of July, 2026

 ② From the beginning of September, 2026 to the end of November, 2026

 ③ From the beginning of January, 2027 to the end of March, 2027  [Number of Curators (tentative)] 6 curators in total (2 curators per period)

 3. What TOKAS offers -Living space (single room) -Airfare: A round-trip economy-class air ticket between the nearest airport from the place  of residence and Tokyo (either Narita or Haneda Airport) will be provided -Fee for research/project: JPY 100,000 (consumption tax excluded) *Income tax (20.42%) will be deducted from the above amounts 2 Curator Residency Program 2026 Outline

 4. Eligibility

 ① Resides outside of Japan

 ② Has 3 years or more of experience in his/her specialized area of expertise

 ③ Has sufficient ability to communicate in English with other residing creators and TOKAS staff for mutual understanding

 ④ Independent and capable of working and living on his/her own

 ⑤ Curators working as a duo are ineligible

 ⑥ Students are ineligible (except for Ph.D. candidates) 

5. Requirements / Conditions

 ① Able to stay consecutively at TOKAS Residency during the proposed residency period.

 ② Shall present their research at a public talk event and submit a comprehensive report on the proposed project. 

 ③ Give mentoring sessions to local emerging creators, participate in talk events if asked by TOKAS, and cooperate with its public relations activity.

 ④ Do not carry out any commercial or profitable activities throughout the residency period.

 ⑤ Do not conduct any activities that would make big noise or vibration in TOKAS Residency.

 ⑥ The accommodation is provided for the participating curator only. Family members, partners, friends or guests are not permitted to stay at TOKAS Residency. 

6. Application Deadline Deadline to submit documents: June 25, 2025, 18:00 (JST) Deadline to submit portfolio: July 2, 2025, 23:00 (JST)

 7. Selection Schedule Selection stage: review with external juries in August, 2025 The final results will be announced through our website at the beginning of October, 2025. *Only successful applicants will be informed of their final results individually by the end of September, 2025 *We do not respond to any individual inquiries on the selection process and result 

8. Application Method [Submitting documents] Please download Application Package from our website and read carefully through Manual (.pdf file). Please send your 

① Application Form (1 and 2) and

② Two letters of recommendation mentioned in 

9. Application to TOKAS Residency referring to 11. Email Address for application by Email. Please write your name and “Curator Residency Program 2026” on the subject line of your Email. 3 Curator Residency Program 2026 Outline

 [Uploading portfolio] We will inform you of the URL to upload portfolio within five working days. Please make sure to upload ③ Portfolio in 9. Application no later than July 2, 2025, 23:00 (JST)

9. Application

 ① Application Form 1 and 2 (.pdf file): have to be filled in English.

 ② Two letters of recommendation (.pdf file): have to be prepared by two different referees (stated in “3) Referees” in Application Form 2) from art and cultural institutions, related educational organizations, or professionals specialized in the fields of art and culture.

 *Letters must include signatures of the referees and the date of issue, written in either Japanese or English in A4 format 

*Digital signature as well as hand-written signature will be accepted 

*Please send the scanned PDF files of letters by June 25, 2025, 18:00 (JST)

 ③ Portfolio Your portfolio should be no longer than 6 pages (A4 Landscape), including summaries of past activities, images of past projects, and links of videos or sounds. Please save it as one PDF file. *The size of the portfolio file must be no larger than 10MB *Please refer to Manual (.pdf file) for the details of instruction 

*Please name the portfolio file as follows: Portfolio_YourNAME.pdf

 *Any application which does not meet the requirements stated in the outline will not be accepted. 

10. TOKAS Residency Facilities

 Location: TOKAS Residency (2-14-7 Tatekawa, Sumida-ku, Tokyo)

 -Single room (25 ㎡) / Twin-bedded room (49 ㎡) 

*Each accommodation is equipped with kitchen, toilet, bath, furniture (bed, desk, chairs, etc.), refrigerator, air-conditioner, tableware, towels, and sets of linen 

-Wi-Fi internet connection: All day accessible 

-Common spaces: Available from 9:30 - 23:00

 *Networking room (equipped with kitchen, dining and living room sets, computer, printer, TV, etc.), library, laundry, and shared studios (125 ㎡ and 48 ㎡) 

11. Email Address for application Email: apply_residency2026@tokyoartsandspace.jp 

*Please do not send inquiries to this Email address. You will not receive a response to inquiries sent to this Email address. 

12. Inquiries Email: contact_residency2025@tokyoartsandspace.jp *For inquiries not listed in the FAQ page on our website, please contact us by Email by June 8, 2025. We will update the FAQ on our website after June 13, 2025. Please note that in principle, we cannot answer each inquiry individually. 

13. Policy of Personal Information Usage TOKAS uses your personal information solely for contacting you on this program. TOKAS never uses or shares your personal information provided to us in ways unrelated to the one described above, also providing you an opportunity to opt-out otherwise prohibiting such unrelated uses. 

*This program is finalized to be implemented under the condition of obtaining the approval for the Annual Plan 2026 of Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture by the Board of Directors by the end of March 2026.