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Enrollment Open for 2025 Capacity Building Course at Tokyo Arts and Culture Advisory Center

The Tokyo Arts and Culture Advisory Center, known as 'Art Noto', is currently calling for applications for its 2025 Capacity Building Course. The deadline for applications is July 25, 2025, by 5:00 PM.

This course offers a comprehensive curriculum that enables participants to examine the relationship between arts, culture, and society from a broad perspective. Students will enhance their problem-solving abilities and develop new value creation skills essential for achieving their goals. The course encompasses a variety of interactive formats including lectures, workshops, discussions, and individual consultations. Through these activities, participants will have the opportunity to engage with instructors, facilitators, and advisors, whilst building cross-disciplinary networks essential for realizing their projects.

Now in its eighth year, this program has produced over 100 graduates, many of whom are now successfully active in creative fields. In a rapidly transforming society marked by AI advancements, climate change, and complex international relations, the program recognizes an urgent need for fresh expressions and creative activities rooted in human, social, natural, and historical contexts. Participants will learn to connect these expressions with society and share diverse practices in this transitional era.

Target Participants

The course is tailored for individuals working in the arts and culture sector (primarily non-profit) with at least five years of relevant experience. This includes but is not limited to:

• - Self-managed artists and performers
• - Producers and technical staff
• - Curators and coordinators
• - Art managers
• - Employees of cultural organizations and art-related non-profits
• - Program officers of supporting organizations
• - Cultural representatives from governmental agencies and corporations
• - Researchers from any field

Approximately 16 participants will be selected to come together from various disciplines, collaborating intensively in a closed-group setting, where they can explore the new possibilities of arts and culture alongside distinguished faculty.

Course Schedule

Session 1
Date: August 22, 2025 (Friday) 16:00-21:00
Focus: Skills in utilizing vision and mission statements to engage empathy and support, and methods of managing non-profit organizations.
Instructor: Takuji Hiroishi, CEO of Empublic and Social Project Producer

Session 2
Date: September 10, 2025 (Wednesday) 17:00-19:30
Focus: Implementation and establishment of vision and purpose.
Instructors: Yuta Ishii (PR Consultant), Kensuke Ishii (Blind Communicator)

Session 3 (Archive available)
Date: September 24, 2025 (Wednesday) 17:00-19:30
Focus: Refining evaluative metrics to convey the significance of activities.
Instructor: Yuriko Minamoto (Professor at Meiji University)

Session 4
Date: October 22, 2025 (Wednesday) 17:00-19:30
Focus: Techniques for improving and transforming through stakeholder-involved evaluations.
Instructor: Yuriko Minamoto

Mid-course Discussion
Date: November 19, 2025 (Wednesday) 17:00-19:30
Facilitators: Tomonori Ogawa, President of ST Spot Yokohama; Tomoko Wakabayashi, Project Coordinator at Rikkyo University

Session 5 (Archive available)
Date: December 15, 2025 (Monday) 17:00-19:30
Focus: Dialogue with practitioners: understanding the complexities and the joy of expression.
Instructor: Kanayo Ueda (Poet)

Session 6 (Archive available)
Date: January 7, 2026 (Wednesday) 17:00-19:30
Focus: Refining skills to re-examine the correlation between arts and society starting with the concept of 'cultural rights'.
Instructor: Miho Nakamura (Associate Professor)

Individual Consultations
Date: January 22, 2026 (Thursday)
Facilitators: Tomonori Ogawa, Tomoko Wakabayashi

Final Presentation
Date: February 6, 2026 (Friday) 17:00-21:00
Focus: Presenting solutions and value creation strategies.
Facilitators: Tomonori Ogawa, Tomoko Wakabayashi

Program may be subject to change, so please check the latest updates.

For detailed information on eligibility and application methods, please visit the Art Noto Course Page.

Organizers: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Foundation for History and Culture, Arts Council Tokyo
Management: Nonprofit Organization Open Network for Performing Arts Management (ON-PAM)

Throughout the course, facilitators and advisors will accompany participants and guide them through various topics dictated by leading professionals in their respective fields. This year, the involvement of past graduates as instructors brings valuable experience that enhances the learning process for new students.

For further information on the facilitators and instructors’ profiles, visit the website links provided in the course program.

The Tokyo Arts and Culture Advisory Center, 'Art Noto', serves as a platform aimed at sustaining the activities of artists and cultural entities operating within Tokyo. Its services include dedicated advisory support, sharing of relevant information, and educational programs designed to equip stakeholders with necessary knowledge and skills.