Taro Okamoto Award


The Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art is an annual open-call art prize in Japan, honoring artists whose work embodies the challenging and innovative spirit of avant-garde painter and sculptor Taro Okamoto.

History

The award was established in 1997 under the name Taro Okamoto Memorial Contemporary Art Award to commemorate Okamoto’s legacy and promote new forms of artistic expression. In 2007, the prize was renamed to its current title. Its founding vision asks: “who creates the age?”, a phrase drawn from Okamoto’s 1954 book The Art of Today, which carried the subtitle “Who truly creates the age?”.

Structure

The competition is an open submission exhibition, accepting creators across all ages, disciplines, and nationalities. Entrants submit works to a preliminary review, after which selected pieces are exhibited at the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art in Kawasaki. During the exhibition, the final prizes are awarded. Artists are responsible for production and transportation costs of their works.
The panel of jurors changes regularly and has included prominent artists, curators, and critics active in contemporary Japanese art.
The prize is currently divided into several categories. The Taro Okamoto Prize functions as the grand prize and is presented to a single artis. The Toshiko Okamoto Prize, named after Okamoto’s partner and longtime collaborator Toshiko Okamoto. In addition, several Special Prizes are conferred. The competition places no restrictions on artistic medium, and recipients have included painters, sculptors, installation artists, and performance artists.

Notable recipients