The Mori Contemporary Art Foundation (MoriCAF) was established on May 7, 2025, with the goal of promoting Japanese contemporary art to the international art world.
The foundation will provide ongoing support to boost Japanese contemporary art on the global stage through the Curator Residency Program, which offers opportunities for overseas curators to conduct research on artists in Japan and interact with art professionals, as well as the Mori Art Award, which recognizes excellence in Japanese artists from a global perspective. Through these activities, MoriCAF aspires to contribute to the promotion and further development of Japanese contemporary art, bolstering and sustaining its presence in the international art world.
- Founder
- Mori Yoshiko (Chairperson Emerita, Mori Art Museum)
- Date of Establishment
- May 7, 2025
Message from the Founder
Established in 2003, Mori Art Museum has actively built relationships with major art museums overseas and learned from international standards. On visits to art scenes around the globe, I was greatly struck by how though Japan has many incredibly talented artists, there are still few opportunities to introduce them internationally. I have long wanted to present Japanese contemporary art on the world stage, and so in order to provide sustained support, rather than through the institutional framework of a museum, I established the Mori Contemporary Art Foundation.
The foundation’s activities center around two pillars: a residency program for overseas curators to research Japanese contemporary art and the Mori Art Award, which boosts the international profile of mid-career Japanese artists. A key feature of both programs is that directors of globally renowned art museums, serve as members of the International Jury.
The foundation is able to carry these activities thanks to the more than twenty years of experience I accrued at Mori Art Museum and the many people I met during that time. I am personally very excited to see the outcome of the foundation’s efforts.
Photo: Shintsubo Kenshu
Mori Yoshiko
Founder, Mori Contemporary Art Foundation
Chairperson Emerita, Mori Art Museum
In 2003, Mori Yoshiko was appointed as the first chairperson of Mori Art Museum. During the more than twenty years that she held the position, she played a leading role in supporting Japanese contemporary art. Mori has served as a Trustee of the Royal Academy of Arts (London, UK) (1999–2017), Chairperson of Mori Art Museum (2003–24), Trustee of the Odawara Art Foundation (2009–), Trustee of the Western Art Foundation (2014–), Trustee of the Ishikawa Foundation (2015–), and Honorary Trustee of the Royal Academy of Arts (2017–). She was awarded the Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur of the French Republic in 2013 and the Honorary Order of the British Empire in 2025.
Mori Contemporary Art Foundation Organizational Structure
Founder
- Mori Yoshiko
- Chairperson, Mori Contemporary Art Foundation; Chairperson Emerita, Mori Art Museum
Directors
- Mori Kyoko
- Managing Director, Mori Contemporary Art Foundation; Chairperson, Mori Art Museum
- Kataoka Mami
- Chair, International Jury, Director, Mori Art Museum
- Obayashi Takeo
- Chairman of the Board, Obayashi Corporation
- Kimura Eriko
- Director, Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art
- Suematsu Atomu
- CEO and President, TOLOT Inc.
- Furuta Ryo
- Professor, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts
Board of Trustees
- Mori Yasuko
- President and CEO, Mori Kiyo Co., Ltd.
- Imamura Keiichi
- Former Chairman of the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo
- Ohara Akane
- Representative Director, Ohara Art Foundation
- Kawai Yoshihiro
- Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo
- Sou Fujimoto
- Representative Director, Sou Fujimoto Architects
- Hirao Tsuneaki
- Chief Executive Consultant, EY Strategy and Consulting Co., Ltd.
Auditors
- Tarumoto Satoshi
- Lead Attorney, Inteasu Law Office
- Matsuoka Akio
- Representative Partner and Tax Accountant, MatsuokaOe Tax Accountant Co.
