Organizer Information
Tokyo Biennale is organized by the General Non-Profit Incorporated Organization Tokyo Biennale, led by Masato Nakamura, an artist who founded the art collective Command N in 1997 and established the public-oriented cultural facility Arts Chiyoda 3331 in 2010, managing it until 2023. Nakamura has served as overall director of the Tokyo Biennale in 2021 and 2023, and as General Producer in 2025. The Biennale traces its lineage to the historic Japan International Art Exhibition (Tokyo Biennale), held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum as one of eighteen international exhibitions organized between 1952 and 1990, with the 10th edition in 1970 marking a notable shift in the history of biennials toward a focus on contemporary art practice rather than national representation. The revived Tokyo Biennale, relaunched around 2020, is centered on the neighborhoods of Chiyoda, Chuo, Bunkyo, and Taito wards in central Tokyo and has previously received support from Arts Council Tokyo and the Ishibashi Foundation, among others.
Title & Description
Social Dive Open Call — Tokyo Biennale 2027
Social Dive is an art project in which artists immerse themselves in neighborhoods across Tokyo to uncover both local traditions and emerging values. For Tokyo Biennale 2027, the open call solicits proposals from around the world for the co-creation of spaces for cross-border encounter and dialogue, responding to the theme "From 'Me' to 'Us.'" Proposals are invited for artwork production or art project development across designated sites throughout the city — including a historic temple, a business district, a traditional alley, a surviving wooden building, a train station, and an entertainment venue — all locations where Tokyo Biennale has previously run projects. Selected applicants will undertake research and residency-based production in Tokyo, engaging directly with local communities, and will present outcomes as part of the Biennale.
Theme
"From 'Me' to 'Us'" — Tokyo Biennale 2027's central theme, addressing an age of global conflict and division by reexamining inherited wisdom and cultural resources, and using art to rebuild connection between individuals ("me") and community ("us"). Proposals must take individual experience as a starting point while opening outward to others, local communities, and the city itself, engaging Tokyo's people, history, and social context rather than treating it merely as a venue.
Categories
- Residency
- Public Art
- Curatorial
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Multiple Disciplines
- Site-specific
- Research
- Performance
- Installation
- Video/Film
Eligibility
- Open to artists, curators, researchers, collectives, and practitioners in related fields, active in Japan or abroad
- Applications accepted for both artwork production (by artists) and art project proposals (by curators)
- Individuals or groups may apply; groups must designate a single representative
- Applicants must be at least 18 years old at the time of application
- No restrictions regarding nationality, place of residence, or base of operations
- Applicants must be able to participate in research, residency-based production, collaboration with relevant parties, and presentation of outcomes in Tokyo
- Each applicant may submit only one project proposal
- Proposals primarily intended for political, religious, or commercial promotion are ineligible
- Proposals that violate public order and morals, or that unfairly disparage individuals, organizations, or regions, are ineligible
Program Benefits & Awards
- Round-trip travel expenses, up to ¥300,000 (including tax), based on efficient and reasonable economy-class tickets between Tokyo and the applicant's country (maximum 1 person)
- Accommodation in Tokyo
- Coordination of venue for the art program
- Support fee for project development, with a budget limit of ¥200,000 (including tax)
- Honorarium of ¥100,000 (including tax)
- Interpretation and translation support
- Issue of an invitation letter
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 30 September 2026
Location
Tokyo, Japan
Additional Details
- Selection is a two-stage process: preliminary screening based on submitted materials, followed (as necessary) by additional materials, interviews, or presentations, and a final selection determining which proposals are adopted.
- Evaluation criteria include responsiveness to the 2027 theme, originality, social relevance, connection to Tokyo, potential for collaboration with local communities, and feasibility as a residency-based project.
- Proposals that pass preliminary screening may be made public (name/group name, country/region, project title, summary, profile, and selected images) even if not ultimately selected, via the official website, exhibitions, events, or archives; applying constitutes agreement to this possibility.
- Copyright remains with the applicant, but Tokyo Biennale 2027 "SOCIAL DIVE" reserves the right to use submitted content for screening, publicity, documentation, and archiving purposes.
- Selected applicants must cooperate with the Secretariat on production costs, schedules, installation/removal, operational structure, and publicity, and must be flexible to changes in project content, location, or format as determined through consultation post-selection.
- As a general rule, individual inquiries about selection results or the selection process will not be answered.
- Note: the source text's introduction refers to "ten diverse locations" and "ten sites," but the detailed site list that follows numbers eleven locations (①–⑪, including Toeizan Kaneiji Temple, Yushima Seido, Otemachi/Marunouchi/Yurakucho, Kyobashi, Nihonbashi, Yaesu, Kanda, Ueno Station, Tokyo Dome City, Akihabara Electric Town, and Bakurocho/Higashi-Kanda) — flagging this discrepancy rather than resolving it.