Odawara Nodoka and Yamada Yuri, recipients of the “NCAR × AWARE: Fellowship for Research on Women Artists in Japan” at the press conference, Institut français de Tokyo, April 15th 2026. Photo: Yasuda Madoka
Odawara Nodoka and Yamada Yuri have been selected as the fellows for the inaugural 2026 edition of the “NCAR × AWARE Women Artists Research Fellowship” launched in December 2025. This fellowship aims to strengthen scholarship about women artists in Japan and contribute to the global advancement of art historical research through more diverse and inclusive perspectives.
As part of the fellowship, Odawara Nodoka will conduct research on women sculptors in modern Japan. This study will shed light on the artistic works and careers of sculptors such as Kuhara Namiko (1906–1994), the first woman artist to be selected for the Imperial Academy art exhibition, and Ōta Kameno (1903–1986). By compiling information on early women sculptors in modern Japan, the study will make visible the barriers they faced and critically examine art history from a feminist perspective.
The fellowship project of Yamada Yuri aims to reevaluate the role of women photographers in the history of modern Japanese photography, following the introduction of photographic equipment to Japan. These photographers include Shima Ryū (1823–1899), Hanawa Yoshino (1848–1884) and Yamamoto Kotome (dates unknown). By researching related past exhibitions and archival materials, the fellow aims to document the unique contributions of these women to the development of modern Japanese photographic culture.
The selection committee comprised Amada Marina, representative of AWARE Japan and exhibition curator; Otani Shogo, head of the collections department at the NCAR and deputy director of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; and Kokatsu Reiko, art historian and critic; Tatehata Akira, Director of the Yayoi Kusama Museum; Nakamachi Keiko, Professor Emerita at Jissen Women’s University and Special Director of the Akita Museum of Modern Art; and Mizuno Ryoko, Associate Professor at Japan Women’s University.
Odawara Nodoka is a sculptor, critic, and publisher. She holds a PhD in Art Studies and was born in Miyagi Prefecture in 1985. Her major solo exhibitions include those at the Aomori Contemporary Art Centre [ACAC], the Tsunagi Art Museum (Kumamoto), and the Sugimura Jun Museum of Art in Shiogama, among others. She was awarded the Miyagi Prefecture Arts Award for Emerging Artists (FY2024). Her principal monographs include Sculpting / Overcoming Modernity (Kodansha) and Toward a Theory of Monuments: Sculpture as a Critical Problem (Seidosha). She also co-edited Art of This Country (Modern Japan): De-Imperializing Japanese Art History: Art and Legacies of Empire in Modern and Contemporary Japan (with Hiroki Yamamoto, Getsuyosha). She is a member of the Field Research Group on Artistic Practices and a faculty member at Yokohama National University.
Yamada Yuri specializes in the history of modern and contemporary photography after her studies in art history. She is a curator of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and previously served as a curator of Izu Photo Museum. She organized the exhibitions Fiona Tan: Ascent (2016), Terri Weifenbach: The May Sun (2017), Memories Penetrate the Ground and Permeate the Wind Contemporary Japanese Photography vol. 18 (2021), Motohashi Seiichi and Robert Doisneau: Narrative Passages (2023), Luigi Ghirri: Infinite Landscapes (2025). She also co-curated I know something about love, asian contemporary photography (2018) with Kasahara Michiko, Reversible Destiny: Australian and Japanese contemporary photography (2021) with Natalie King.
