Installation view Minouk Lim: Hyper Yellow, Komagome SOKO, Tokyo, 2024 Photo: ART iT
On September 1, 2026, the Obayashi Foundation opened the call for the sixth recipient of its grant program Visions of the City – Obayashi Foundation Research Program, to be awarded in fiscal 2027. The entry period runs through September 15, with registration accepted via a form on the foundation’s website. Application documents are due between September 15 and October 15 at 1pm JST. Recipients have until now been selected on the basis of recommendations by a selection committee. To make the program more accessible, the foundation has switched to an open call from this edition. While there are no restrictions on applicants’ nationality or place of residence, as a general rule applications must be submitted in Japanese.
Launched in 2017, the biennial program supports artists from Japan and abroad with a strong interest in cities, inviting them to examine the various problems facing urban areas from perspectives distinct from conventional urban planning, and to propose new or ideal visions of the city, or a city they would like to live in. Past recipients are Aida Makoto (2017), Theaster Gates (2019), exonemo (2021), Minouk Lim (2023), and Ho Rui An (2025). The grant period for the sixth edition runs from April 1, 2027, to March 31, 2029. Details of the eligibility requirements are available via the foundation’s website (application guidelines in Japanese).
Visions of the City – Obayashi Foundation Research Program: 2027 Open Call
https://www.obayashifoundation.org/english/urbanvision/