The three curators from Japan were chosen through an open call for applications. All the curators and mentors joined an online meeting to match up based on their respective expertise and interests. Mitome Sayaka (Curator, Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM)) was assigned to collaborate with Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian (CAM), located in Lisbon.
Behind the Scenes
LisbonPortugal
0
Starting point
2024.08
2024.12
Mitome visited Lisbon with program mentor Kataoka Mami and inspected the venue (CAM). They exchanged ideas with Benjamin Weil, the director of CAM and a collaborator on this project, on topics such as audience tastes and the direction of the exhibition.
2025.01
After returning to Japan, Mitome thought about candidate artists for the CAM exhibition. She created materials in English for a proposal to Weil, and prepared a presentation based on Kataoka’s advice.
2025.02
An online meeting with Weil was arranged, and Mitome proposed several emerging artists from Japan. As a result of discussions during the course of several meetings, they decided on Aoyagi Natsumi.
2025.03
Aoyagi and Mitome met in Tokyo, where they learned about the history and culture of Portugal, and discussed which places they should visit for their research.
1
Research
2025.05
Aoyagi and Mitome visited Portugal for a 14-day period of research. They visited cities including Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Fatima and Cascais. In Lisbon they toured CAM with Weil as their guide. They visited CAM several times to study the exhibition location, taking time to inspect the building and the surrounding area.
Overlooking the Tagus River, which flows into the North Atlantic. Many ships departed from here during the Age of Discovery.
The team also researched fado, a Portuguese music genre, and found a copy of some of the earliest fado recordings.
There are many public washhouses (lavadouros) all over Portugal. Some of them are still in use today.
2
Planning
2025.06
The first JUMP Meetup was held at the National Center for Arts Research in Tokyo. In addition to reporting on their research in Portugal, Aoyagi and Mitome shared ideas for enhancing the visitor experience and encouraging dialog through video works, sound installations, and various other approaches. The four mentors offered feedback based on their own experiences.
The JUMP Meetup No. 1 Report can be found here.
2025.08
To develop plans for work that connects Portugal and Japan, Aoyagi and Mitome carried out research in Yamaguchi City, Hagi City, and Suo Oshima over a four-day period. They also held a technical meeting with the staff of YCAM concerning production.
A traditional sauna-style ishiburo, where the stone chamber is heated to provide a hot place where bathers can soothe their bodies
Tour of the YCAM lab, trying out some of the lab equipment
2025.10
The project is now underway.
