Core Program

 Historically, science has sought "objective truth" while the arts have valued "subjective expression," and the two have tended to be discussed in separate contexts. However, a single perspective is insufficient to provide adequate solutions to the complex challenges facing modern society. Therefore, this research explores the potential of the arts at the root of human endeavor by fostering a dialogue between cultural arts and science, allowing each to learn from the other's thought processes.
 Whether artists create their work or scientists conduct their research, there exists a shared "process of oscillating between observation and reflection”. Focusing on this cycle of “observation” and “reflection”, we will create a platform where artists and scientists share their thought processes, and undertake an initiative to connect art and science through this back-and-forth between observation and reflection. Moving beyond conceptual methods like so-called "Art Thinking", we will strive to build a practice-based relationship by bringing the actual site of artistic production into the research environment of the International Institute for Advanced Studies (IIAS).
 Fiscal year 2026, we will launch the “Art Tea Ceremony” as a phase in which researchers and stakeholders both within and outside the institute experience firsthand the "encounter between art and IIAS". It is positioned as a foundation-building year for the launch of a full-scale Artist-in-Residence program and research retreats centered on young researchers in practical art fields from 2027 onwards.

＜Research Planning and Management＞
Senior Research Fellow
 KOYAMADA Toru      President, Kyoto City University of Arts / Artist
 ISHIHARA Tomoaki   Professor Emeritus, Kyoto City University of Arts
             Visiting Researcher, Archival Research Center, Kyoto City University of Arts
             Artist
 TANIMOTO Takashi    Professor, Otemae University
 HIROI Nobuko       Professor Emeritus, Kyoto City University of Arts
             Dyeing and Weaving Artist
Specially Appointed Researcher
 HAGA Michiko      Reserch Fellow, Archival Research Center, Kyoto City University of Arts
                Part-time Lecturer, Seian University of Arts and Design etc.

1) Art Tea Ceremony “Can Tea room serve as a laboratory for quiet reflection?”
 The Tea Room “Gasho-An,” which had been lying dormant at IIAS; We will reboot this quiet space as a “laboratory” for exploring questions.
 We will create an environment that fosters dialogue by sharing the space of the tea room and opening our hearts and senses. By using artists’ new techniques and forms of expression as a “catalyst for reflection,” we will provide each participant with an opportunity to reexamine their own perceptions and values.
 That sense of “Huh?” before it can be put into words—what kind of dialogue emerges when that noise collides with a scientist’s intellect? There, transcending mere ‘hospitality’ or 'appreciation,' the differences in interpretation themselves are transformed into an experience worth sharing.
 We believe that the dialogue born from these shared experiences is the very embodiment of the cycle of knowledge that IIAS to achieve.

2) Pilot Residency
 We will conduct a trial run in preparation for the full-scale international residency scheduled for 2027. An Artist-in-Residence is a framework where artists stay at a location for a set period to create work. Throughout the process, workshops and discussions will be held to deepen dialogue and debate. By creating an environment for daily mutual interaction at IIAS, scientific knowledge can stimulate artistic expression, and artistic sensibility can deepen scientific inquiry. Through this exchange, we expect to see the emergence of perspectives that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries.
 Fiscal year 2026, the artist duo “Byproducts Market” (Yoshitaka Yazu and Tsuyoshi Yamada) will be in residence. “Byproducts Market” is an artist collective that has been exploring “the value and potential of objects” by collecting and reconfiguring “byproducts” generated in artists’ studios.
 In this research, we will expand the perspective beyond artistic production to include research activities, engaging in a practice that moves back and forth between dialogue with researchers, creation, and documentation. We will attempt to reinterpret the notes, diagrams, discarded materials, and traces of trial and error that arise during the research process as “byproducts” of research activities.
 By staying at IIAS, we will focus on the materials and landscapes found within the facility and the surrounding area, and through dialogue with researchers, we will explore their value and significance.
 Furthermore, this research will explore the practical application of AI in recording, editing, and analysis. By accumulating everyday recordings—such as video, audio, and text—and applying new technologies, we will examine how these can be connected to perspectives and forms of expression that differ from conventional approaches.

3) The Interspace ("Awai") between Research and Expression: New Forms of Reporting
 We will explore the potential for new forms of communication that incorporate art and expression in research reports and information dissemination. Rather than mere design adjustments or superficial decoration, we will attempt co-creation, conceiving of expression as a way for research and art to stimulate one another. We hope that mutual discoveries will be found in the "interspace" between expression and research on the same theme.
 In typical research reports, findings and conclusions are presented in a structured format. On the other hand, this research posits that the “process” itself—including daily life, creative work, dialogue, living, and trial and error—holds significant value in its own right. Therefore, we will conduct ongoing, long-term documentation and accumulate records of daily life at IIAS, creative work in progress, and dialogues with researchers in the form of video, photographs, audio, and text. Through these records, we will experimentally explore a new format for research reporting that shares not only the final outcomes but also the very process where research and expression intersect.
 In addition, we will explore how to transform vast accumulations of daily records and conversations into new forms of expression and reporting, while incorporating AI-powered technologies for organizing, editing, and generating content. Rather than viewing technology merely as a tool for efficiency, we will position it as a medium for redefining the relationship between research and expression and we will explore methods of sharing that differ from conventional research reports and investigate the potential for new modes of communication.

4) Other Expressions and Research
 We will be hosting events such as "Watakushi-Gakumon" Research Group” (Hiroaki Isobe, Kosaku Tozawa, Naohide Tomita, and others), “KOKUFU OSAMU 《CAR FREEZER》CONSERVATION PROJECT, Related Programs, and MIMAMORI AIR PROGRAM(Artist-in-Residence).”