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Interactive Program
Motif Trekking : a journey through “motifs” in the careers of pioneers
motif 04 “Nurture“
Motif Trekking 04「Nurture」NAMIKAWA Emiko (Former owner of Gallery Lunami / Founding director of NPO Art Resources Development Association [ARDA])
Overview
NAMIKAWA Emiko graduated from the Musashino Junior College of Art in 1963, the same year her father, the painter NAMIKAWA Hiroshi, opened Gallery Lunami. She served as his assistant for four years. After her father passed away in 1979, she ran Gallery Lunami from 1980 to 1998.
During the Gallery Lunami years, NAMIKAWA organized and hosted international exchange exhibitions with countries across the Pacific Rim, beginning with Australia. Among the most notable were CONTINUUM ‘83: Australian Contemporary Art Exhibition (Tokyo) and CONTINUUM ‘85: Japanese Contemporary Art Exhibition (Melbourne), for which she served as curator and director on the Japanese side. In 1993, she joined fellow gallery owners to form the Contemporary Art Gallery Conference. To nurture emerging artists, they launched an annual solo exhibition series titled “Focusing on a New Generation in Tokyo,” held across ten galleries every year—a tradition that continues to this day.
In 1998, NAMIKAWA closed Gallery Lunami, which had been in operation for 35 years since her father’s time. In 1999, she organized art exhibitions and workshops at elderly care facilities under the theme “Living, Art, Together.” Around this time, she began shifting her activities toward a community-based approach rooted in her own neighborhood. In 2002, she established the NPO Art Resources Development Association (ARDA). In a society marked by declining birth rates and an aging population, the organization continues its work, guided by the mission to channel the essence of art into society through the human spirit. In 2024, she received the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award (FY2024).
| Title | motif 04 "Nurture" |
|---|---|
| Talk | NAMIKAWA Emiko (Former owner of Gallery Lunami / Founding director of NPO Art Resources Development Association [ARDA]) |
| Staff | Video Production｜RAKUDA STUDIO
Film Director｜TAMURA Hiroshi Sound｜FUJIGUCHI Ryota Camera Assistant｜TANIGUCHI Akira Music｜IIDA Tomonobu Title design | SAKO Kazunari (hickory03travelers) |
| Supported by | NPO Art Resources Development Association[ARDA] |
| Planning & Production | Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery（OUCHI Kaoru） |
NAMIKAWA Emiko
NAMIKAWA Emiko founded ARDA (NPO Art Resources Development Association) in 2002 with her colleagues, guided by the belief that art plays an indispensable social role in helping people live with true humanity. The organization has garnered attention for its pioneering mission to put art to work in society, aiming to create communities where everyone can live authentically and with a richness of spirit. Since 1999, ARDA has conducted the “Art Delivery Lecture” program, in which artists visit elderly care facilities to lead art workshops—a forward-looking outreach initiative that addresses the needs of an aging society. In this video, NAMIKAWA reflects on the motivations and encounters behind ARDA’s founding, her understanding of the times, and the broader art environment, based on the relationships she cultivated with young artists and the support she provided for their careers during her years running a contemporary art gallery, which served as the starting point for her activities, and the experiences of her own personal growth.
