Curator, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum Chief of Learning and Public Projects / Manager, Tobira Project and Museum Start i-Ueno
Kumagai received an MA from the Graduate School for Language and Society at Hitotsubashi University. After ten years of work in the private sector, she became a curator at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in 2013. She curated the interactive exhibition: BENTO—Design for Eating, Gathering and Communicating in 2018 and the exhibition From the depths of Ueno, a story begins―Tamana Araki in 2023. She became the chief of Learning and Public Projects in 2022.
Curator,
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tobira Project
Minegishi completed MA Arts Studies and Curatorial Practices, Graduate School of Global Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts. She worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, and engaged in the launch and administration of art communicators (Nagarers) project to coincide with the reopening of the museum. In 2022, she became a curator at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
Curator,
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Museum Start i-Ueno
Kono received an MA from Graduate School of Art and Design at Musashino Art University. She became a curator at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in 2008. After working in the section of Creative Connections to organize Public-Entry exhibitions, she joined the section of Learning and Public Projects in 2013.
Program Officer, Museum Start i-Ueno
Niidome completed a BA at Kanazawa College of Art, Aesthetics & Art History major of the Department of Fine Art, followed by an MA in Art from the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences at the University of Tsukuba. She assisted Kid’s Studio Programs at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. In 2022, she worked as an intern at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, where she then became a Project Assistant. She has been in her current position since April 2024.
Curator,
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Creative Ageing Zuttobi
Fujioka completed MA Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins in 2016. He worked as a Project Assistant Professor at MFA Global Art Practice at Tokyo University of the Arts from 2018 to 2020 while undertaking a wide range of cultural projects as a researcher, curator and filmmaker. His curated projects include On the Verge of Fiction (Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts Taipei, 2019). In 2021, he became a curator at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
Social Inclusion Officer, Learning and Public Projects, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
Certified Social Worker. Kudo previously supported special needs education and worked for a continuous employment support center. She also served as the coordinator of ‘TURN’ project, the assistant of ‘Creative Ageing Zuttobi’ of Art Communication project, as well as a Coordinator of Tobira Project before assuming her current position in April 2024. She is also a local registered Sign Language Interpreter and a chair of committee ‘Museum Visit with Babies.’
Project Associate Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts / Manager, Tobira Project and Museum Start i-Ueno
Komuta received an MA from the Department of Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2009. His art practice mainly explores the medium of painting. He worked as a Research Associate at Tokyo University of the Arts, and subsequently as a program officer at Implementation Committee for New Concept "Ueno, a Global Capital of Culture” from 2018 to 2020. He became an Assistant Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2021, working as the manager of Tobira Project and Museum Start i-Ueno.
Coordinator, Tobira Project
Project Research Assistant, Tokyo University of the Arts
Koshikawa graduated from the Musashino Art University, Department of Oil Painting. She participated in the Tobira Project from 2012 as the first “Tobira”. After working as a school comprehensive supporter at the Setagaya Ward Board of Education and coordinator of the NPO Art Resource Development Organization (ARDA), she joined the Tobira Project Coordinator. She is also the director of the Appreciate Approach.
Coordinator, Tobira Project
Project Research Assistant, Tokyo University of the Arts
Graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design, in the field of Art Produce and Museum Studies (currently known as: Creative Production and Museum Studies) of the Department of Cross-Disciplinary Art and Design. After working as a part-time curator at Joshibi Galleria Nike at Joshibi University of Art and Design, she has been in current position since April 2025.
Program Officer, Museum Start i-Ueno
Project Research Assistant, Tokyo University of the Arts
Ishimaru graduated from Tama Art University, Department of Art Studies. She worked at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and The Hiratsuka Museum of Art. She became the program officer of Museum Start i-Ueno in 2021.
Program Officer, Museum Start i-Ueno
Project Research Assistant, Tokyo University of the Arts
Teshirogi completed a BA in the School of Education at the Waseda University and an MA in Art History and Curating at the University of Birmingham. After working at the Fukutake Foundation from 2019 to 2021, she engaged in ‘Creative Ageing Zuttobi’ at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in 2022. In 2023, she became the Program Officer of Museum Start i-Ueno.
Program Officer, Creative Ageing Zuttobi
Project Research Assistant, Tokyo University of the Arts
Kanahama studied oil painting at Tama Art University while working in the private sector, followed by an MFA from Tokyo University of the Arts. She gained an MA equivalent from Academy of Fine Arts in Florence as an Italian Government scholarship student. Her painting relates plants and letters. In Italy, while working for a private company, she was involved in Japan-Italy cultural exchange programs and Japanese language education. In Japan, she worked for ODA projects, an Artist-in-residence program, Tokyo University of the Arts TURN project overseas programs, and The Japan Foundation; before assuming her present position in 2023.
