International symposium 2026

ICA Kyoto will host its annual international symposium this October. This year, practitioners from art universities, professional organizations, independent platforms, theaters, and alternative schools from Japan and abroad will gather in Kyoto. A guest from the field of football will also join, offering a cross-disciplinary look at the institutions, environments, and practices through which people develop. How might education and society, cultivation and autonomy, experimentation and institutional structure be brought into productive relation? Together, we will consider the current landscape of art incubation and education, and the possibilities that lie ahead.  

ICA Kyoto: International Symposium 2026
Institutions, Practices, Experiments: Art Incubation and Education Today
Date: Saturday, October 17–Sunday, October 18, 2026 / Venue: Shiroshoin, Bukkoji Buddhist Temple (397 Shinkai-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto).

Speakers: Marina Reyes Franco (Curatorial Intensive Programs Manager, Independent Curators International (ICI), New York) / Thanavi Chotpradit (Assistant Professor, MA in Critical and Curatorial Studies of Contemporary Art (CCSCA), Taipei) / Mijoo Park (Project Manager, 2026 Gwangju Biennale Academy International Curator Course, Gwangju / Director, m/m curatorial summer camp) / Masakuni Yamamoto (Chairman of the Technical Committee and National Team Director, Japan Football Association, JFA) / Masaru Kaido (Executive Director, Bigakko, Tokyo) / Gulmehar Dhillon (Curator and Programs Manager, Khoj International Artists’ Association, New Delhi) / Fumi Yokobori (Co-Director, DANCE BOX, Kobe) / Daniel Späti (Founder and Coordinator, Transcultural Collaboration/Founder and Former Head of Shared Campus, ZHdK, Zurich and others) / Keisuke Oka (Architect/Creator of Arimasutonbiru / Director, Takayama Architecture Seminar School, Hida) / Jo-Lene Ong (Curator, Buro Stedelijk, Amsterdam) / Mami Kataoka (Director, ICA Kyoto) / Kazuya Nakayama (Deputy Director, ICA Kyoto) / Takuya Tsutsumi (Program Director, ICA Kyoto) / Kodama Kanazawa (Special Project Director, ICA Kyoto).

Registration
Please register using the form. You can also sign up for the Informal Gathering on Saturday, October 17 via this form.

This symposium will focus on the theme of talent development and education in the field of art. The presentation by Masakuni Yamamoto will be in line with this theme. We welcome all who are interested in the overall theme of the symposium, especially in the fields of art and education. We hope that registrants will participate in the entire program. Registration form. 

Who we are
ICA Kyoto is an open, accessible platform to facilitate resonance between Japan’s ancient capital, with its deeply rooted traditional culture, and global contemporary art trends, and provide a place where people can work together to create new value. Message from director, Mami Kataoka.