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AICHI TRIENNALE 2022 AMBASSADORS

We have invited prominent people from various fields with a passion for the arts to become ambassadors for Aichi Triennale 2022.
From now on the ambassadors will promote Aichi Triennale 2022 in their respective activities.
The ambassadors reflect on their appointment below.

imma

Virtual Model

I’m very grateful to have been chosen as an ambassador.
Art has the power to cross all kinds of borders.
As a virtual human, I can also cross the border from the virtual world to the real world and vice versa.
The act of crossing such borders in the first place, I believe, is the start of big possibilities.

Profile

imma is Japan’s first virtual model, easily identifiable with her signature pink bob but it’s not easy to tell she is virtual.
Always collaborating with top artists and brands, her realness and authenticity in a world of virtually unreal social media makes her also a contrarian voice for the future.
She is Asia’s No.1 influential virtual human and her actions have led to her being selected one of the Women of the Year 2020 by Forbes Women published by Forbes Poland and starred in TOKYO 2020 Paralympics closing ceremony.

Photo: ©LESLIE KEE

Kawase Naomi

Filmmaker

Art has the power to touch people. It has the ability to move and enrich our every day. The challenge of Aichi Triennale 2022 will be in becoming guardians of this art, drawing in its many energies to re-invigorate this place. The power to create the future lies in the present. And in the present can be found the power to change our past. It is this hope that I hold for Aichi Triennale 2022.

Profile

In Nara - where she was born and raised - Naomi Kawase continues to make her films. Her pursuit to capture reality through film beyond simplistic documentary-fiction dichotomies, has received wide-acclaim, including at the Cannes Film Festival. While continuing to expand her activities, she remains deeply rooted in her hometown where she began the Nara International Film Festival and the Youth Filmmaking Workshop to nurture the next generation. She is the official Film Director of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, a Thematic Producer for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai World Expo, and the President of the Women’s Japanese Basketball League and the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In her private life, she is also a mother of one who enjoys cooking.

Kondo Seiichi

Director of the Kondo Institute for Culture & Diplomacy,
Former Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan.

It is a great honor to be appointed Aichi Triennale 2022 Ambassador.
Humans are facing the serious problems of environmental degradation and social division.
I will do my best to make this festival a platform for the arts to exert its full power to free ourselves from the endless pursuit of wealth and narrow obsessions that are causing these problems.

Profile

Former Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan (2010-2013). Other positions he has held include: Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in Paris, Minister at the Embassy of Japan in the United States, Ambassador to UNESCO (2006-2008) and to Denmark (2008-2010). After retirement, Kondo taught at the University of Tokyo, Keio University, Tokyo University of the Arts, etc. He was appointed President of the Professional Institute of International Fashion (2019). He has received Legion d’honneur Chevalier from the French Government, and The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star from the Japanese Government.

Photo: ©J. C. Carbonne

Kuma Kengo

Architect

I would like to cherish Aichi.
Through art, I want to show the power of the place of Aichi to the world.

Profile

Kengo Kuma was born in 1954. He established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. He is currently a University Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo after teaching at Keio University and the University of Tokyo. KKAA projects are currently underway in more than 30 countries. Kengo Kuma proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between nature, technology, and human beings. His major publications include Ten Sen Men (“point, line, plane”, Iwanami Shoten), Hito no Sumika (“shelters for people”, Shincho Shinsho), Makeru Kenchiku (Architecture of Defeat, Iwanami Shoten), Shizen na Kenchiku (Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), Chii-sana Kenchiku (Small Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho) and many others.

Kusano Mitsuyo

Freelance Announcer

The last two years, faced with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been a time of agony, during which we have questioned ourselves about the meaning of life.
My hope is that by standing in front of artworks and connecting with them, I can gain the strength to be still alive in the future.

Profile

Joined NHK, Japan’s public broadcasting corporation, in 1989. As an announcer, Kusano fronted Ohayo Nippon (Good Morning, Japan), NHK Sunday Sports, Kohaku Uta Gassen (a team singing contest on New Year’s Eve), and the Olympics. After leaving NHK, she became a freelancer and signed an exclusive contract with the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) News Department. She presented Chikushi Tetsuya News 23 for 9 years. Currently, Kusano is the navigator of Gohan Japan (Food Culture Japan) on TV Asahi. She is also the vice president of the Japan Sports Association, a board member of the Jin-Bun-Chi forum, and a member of the Council for Infrastructure of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Nagaoka Kenmei

Director of D&DEPARTMENT, Design activist

Aichi Prefecture is where Agui-cho, Chita County is located, and I grew up there until the age of 18. It is also a place that is steeped in a long history of creative activity, most notably weaving.
I will do my best to support the fashioning of further works of creativity in Aichi.

Profile

In 2000, Nagaoka founded the D&DEPARTMENT PROJECT with the theme of long-life design. He published the travel culture magazine d design travel in 2009. Since 2012, he has conceived and managed d47 MUSEUM, Japan’s first regional design museum, which permanently exhibits the character of 47 prefectures at Shibuya Hikarie 8/. As part of the process of establishing a base in each of the 47 prefectures, he has been reviewing the individuality and long-lasting, local design of each of the 47 prefectures and introducing them to the rest of Japan through product sales, restaurants, publishing, and tourism. Received the Mainichi Design Award in 2013.

Photo: Kazuo Matsumoto

Nishitakatsuji Nobuhiro

Chief priest of Dazaifu Tenmangu

Art always reflects the times and constantly brings us new lessons to learn.
As an ambassador, I hope that Aichi Triennale 2022 will provide many people with hints on how to live robustly in a future full of possibilities by learning through art.

Profile

Nishitakatsuji Nobuhiro is the 40th generation descendant of Sugawara Michizane, the deity of Dazaifu Tenmangu. Graduated from the Faculty of Letters, The University of Tokyo.
After obtained a Master’s degree in Shinto Studies and a priesthood qualification from the Graduate School of Kokugakuin University, he started to serve at Dazaifu Tenmangu. In addition to his ritual practices as a Shinto priest, he is actively involved in planning art exhibitions and community development. On April 1, 2019, he was appointed Chief Priest of Dazaifu Tenmangu.

Nozaki Moeka

Fashion Model, TV Personality

Hello, I’m Nozaki Moeka!
I’ve been chosen as an Ambassador for Aichi Triennale 2022.
Art lets us share emotions with people all over the world, regardless of differences in language or background. Through art we can feel all true emotions – loneliness, sadness, happiness, excitement, and joy.
Let’s connect with the world through art!

Profile

Born in Tokyo in February 1990.
Nozaki Moeka made her modeling debut in the fashion magazine non-no, and since then has frequently appeared as a model in women’s magazines such as sweet, Bijin Hyakka, mina, and VOCE.
In June 2021, she launched her official YouTube channel, “MOEKA NOZAKI.”