The International House of Japan has long served as an international base for creative artists from a variety of fields, including visual artists, designers, architects, writers, and musicians from both Japan and overseas. In 1954 we welcomed Walter Gropius, the “father of modern architecture” as a guest, and the building itself, the result of a collaboration among three of Japan’s leading modernist architects, has been a gathering place for architects from around the world. In 1978, to mark the return of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty, we began welcoming fellows on the US-Japan Creative Artists Program, and to date, many American artists have used the International House of Japan as a base to study the culture and arts of Japan.
This project aims to promote artistic exchanges through activities such as lectures by globally active architects, artists, and designers, invitations to overseas artists, and sending Japanese artists overseas. We will also continue to promote projects that consider the world and its future through art, architecture, and design.