IMPROVISATION, COLLABORATION, PARTICIPATION: art school teaching; patterns and priorities
The Future of Arts Education: Towards New Horizons — A Comparative Study between Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and Tokyo University of the Arts

We are pleased to announce the upcoming “IMPROVISATION, COLLABORATION, PARTICIPATION: art school teaching; patterns and priorities – The Future of Arts Education: Towards New Horizons — A Comparative Study between Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and Tokyo University of the Arts.”

For this occasion, we will welcome Professor Graham Ellard from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London (CSM).

As part of the London Unit, the core component of the Global Art Practice (GAP) curriculum at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, Professor Graham Ellard of Central Saint Martins, played an important role in planning and implementing the London Unit since the programme’s inception.

In more recent years Professor Ellard visited Japan three times, as a JSPS Invitational Research Fellow, as a JSPS Bridge Research Fellow and as a Visiting Researcher, conducting comparative research on art education at CSM and Tokyo Geidai. Professor Imamura, as the academic host, supported the research by facilitating interviews and discussions with Tokyo Geidai faculty and students.

Based on this research, Professor Ellard wrote an essay entitled: “The Unexpected Turn: Play and Processes of Making”, published in the Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Fine Arts Bulletin, Vol. 58 (2024).

Following the publication, the idea emerged to present this research more widely within the university, as a basis for considering future directions in international exchange and joint educational practice, as well as for possible dialogue with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) on methodologies of higher art education. Subsequently, Professor Ellard was awarded grants from the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the Sasakawa Foundation to co-devise and participate in a research meeting and symposium in Japan, which led to the present plan.

Taking the opportunity of the Tokyo Geidai PARK (Geidai Platform of Arts and Knowledge for the Future) Forum 2025, we aim to hold a research meeting and symposium to discuss the future of arts education at Tokyo University of the Arts, inspired by Professor Ellard’s research and critical essay.

[Event Overview] Date: Thursday, November 27
Time: 11:00–12:30, 14:00–16:00, 18:00–20:00 (Two-part program: Research Meeting and Symposium)
Venue: Community Salon, 3F International Exchange Building
Language: English–Japanese consecutive interpretation provided

[Part I] 11:00–11:10—Welcome by Yusaku Imamura
11:10–12:30 — Keynote Lecture
Speaker: Graham Ellard (Professor, CSM)

14:00–16:00 — Research Meeting
Speakers: Presentation by Alex Schady (Program Director, Art Programme, CSM), responses by Chiaki Haibara (Lecturer, GAP), Jesse Hogan (Associate Professor, Department of Oil Painting)

[Part II] 18:00–20:00 — Symposium “Insights from a Comparative Study of Art Education in Japanese and UK Universities”
Speakers: Graham Ellard (Professor, CSM), Katsuhiko Hibino (President, TUA), Tadanori Nagasawa (Professor Emeritus and Executive Chairman of Musashino Art University), Rebecca Fortnum (Acting Dean, C School, CSM), Chiaki Haibara (Lecturer, GAP), Yusaku Imamura (Professor, GAP). Additional speakers to be confirmed.
Organized by: Geidai PARK (Geidai Platform of Arts and Knowledge for the Future) Arts Education and Liberal Arts
Co-organized by: Tokyo University of the Arts Global Support Center, Graduate School of Fine Arts Global Art Practice (GAP), Graduate School of Fine Arts Department of Arts and Curatorial Practices (GA) together with Central Saint Martins, University of London, and Tokyo University of the Arts.
Supported with grants from: the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London, and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, with additional support from TUA and CSM