POLA ART FOUNDATION
The Pola Art Foundation’s Activities: Two Important Cultural Endeavors
The Pola Art Foundation was established in May 1996 with private funding from Suzuki Tsuneshi (1930–2000), second-generation head of the family that established the Pola Cosmetics, Inc. Based on Suzuki’s belief in beauty from the interior and enrichment of the heart’s greatness, the Foundation’s aim is to contribute to art and culture. In July 2010 it was converted to a public interest incorporated foundation. In addition to art museum operation, which consists of administering the Pola Museum of Art, another important area of the Foundation’s activities is its grant programs. To expand the horizons of the art field in Japan and to stimulate international cultural exchange, each year the Foundation implements three grant programs: (1) grants for overseas study by emerging artists, (2) research grants for art museum officials, and (3) grants in support of international art exchange. Through the realization and continuation of these two important cultural endeavors, grant programs and art museum operation, the Foundation seeks to contribute to the improvement and development of culture in Japan.
Learn more about the Pola Art Foundation
Learn more about the Pola Art Foundation
01Grant for Overseas Study by Emerging Artists: A Quarter Century of Progress with 430+ Japanese Artists
One of the Foundation’s grant programs is the Grant for Overseas Study by Emerging Artists, which offers support for young artists to study overseas. It was established in 1996, the same year the Foundation was launched, and since then approximately 18 artists have taken part in the annual program, which is one of Japan’s most prominent funding programs for artists. It provides grants to undertake various research and projects abroad, encouraging artists to broaden their knowledge and enrich their creative activities. Naofumi Maruyama, Miwa Yanagi, Takehito Koganezawa, Yutaka Sone, Kyoko Murase, Hiraki Sawa, Koki Tanaka, Rika Noguchi, Enrico Isamu Oyama, and Shuta Hasunuma are among the more than 430 artists who have participated over the years, and the grant has offered the opportunity for many to establish their bases of activity overseas and otherwise broaden the scope of their activities.
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Kyoko Murase
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Shuta HasunumaShuta Hasunuma, Installation view of Compositions (2018) at Pioneer Works, New York
Photo by Takehiro Goto -
Enrico Isamu OyamaEnrico Isamu Oyama in his Tokyo studio, 2022
Photo ©Go Itami -
Koki TanakaKoki Tanaka, Precarious Tasks #9, 24hrs Gathering, 2014
Photo courtesy of the artist, Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou and Aoyama Meguro, Tokyo -
Rika NoguchiPhoto by Shimabuku Michihiro（クレジットの英訳は確認必要）
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Naofumi MaruyamaCopyright the artist
Courtesy of ShugoArts
Photo Shigeo Muto -
Hiraki SawaCourtesy of the artist and Ota Fine Arts
02About the HIRAKU Project
Hiraku translates as “open,” in the sense of “responsive to new possibilities” for creative expression and for the art museum. The HIRAKU Project is a series of exhibitions introducing contemporary artworks by recipients of the Pola Art Foundation Grant for Emerging Artists. It was launched in 2017 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Pola Museum of Art’s opening, and is held in the museum’s Atrium Gallery, established the same year.