私は2015年から2019年の期間、国立新美術館で開催された「DOMANI・明日展」に4 度（第18～21回）、アートディレクター兼デザイナーとして携わった。現代美術がアニュアル周期で開催される展覧会に関わることで多くの学びを得たが、その根幹はいうまでもなく「進芸術家海外研修制度」にある。当研修制度を利用したアーティストたちが、各々の海外経験を国内に持ち帰り、なにを、どう具体化するのか。その好奇心は私にとって、「仕事としてのザイン」という枠組みを超えるには十分な魅力であった。

実際、私が携わった期間は、同世代（40歳前後）のアーティストが多く招聘された。デザイナーという立場上、極力客観的に展覧会を俯瞰することを心がけているが、同じ時代を並走するアーティストたちの思考や言葉、そして作品展開は、間違いなく輝いてみえたし、「そう、そうなんだよ！」という、ある種のアンセムめいた熱量と共感を勝手に感じ取っていた。それは、私たち個人／社会が抱える漫然とした靄をかきわけているようにも思えた。となると、当然デザインにも力が入るわけで、それはもはや仕事としての役割を超えた衝動となるのだ。

このように、毎年アーティストの活動に心揺さぶられながら仕事を続ける中で、じわじわと、しかし確実に自身の考えが揺さぶられる感覚があった。それは「同世代のアーティストはこれほどまでに世界を回遊し、広い視野を得ている。一方、仕事を共にするデザイナー（わたし）は、国内に留まりつづけている」という事実である。当初はそういうものだと思っていたが、それでは今後通用しないかもしれない、と思い至るようになっていく。

展覧会はアーティストだけがつくり上げるものではない。キュレーターはもちろん、編集者、デザイナー、インストーラーなど、そこに集う多くの人々との協働と労働によって成立する。そういった専門家たちが、アーティストと同じように世界事象を確認／ 体験し、各々の専門的な経験を持ち帰ることで、展覧会における協働可能性が高まるのではないか。そして、今後の国内における文化芸術を豊かにするためには、アーティストよりもむしろ協働者やシステムの前進こそが求められるのではないか。本展に関わるほど、自身の不足と新たな視座が明らかになっていった。

この思いは年々高まり、遂に私もデザイナーとして在研制度に申請し、コロナ禍の直前、2019年にオランダ・アムステルダムへと赴くこととなる。ステデリック美術館（アムステルダム市立美術館）とAGA LABというふたつの機関に携わりながら得た経験は、今でもかけがえのないものであると同時に、自身の大いなる課題となり、機会を見定めながら国内での応用を試みている。

Between 2015 and 2019, I was involved as the art director/ designer in four “Domani: The Art of Tomorrow” exhibitions (the 18th–21st) staged at the National Art Center, Tokyo. I learned many things through this involvement in an annual contemporary art exhibition, which, needless to say, is based on the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists. Each artist who makes use of this program returns to Japan with their own unique overseas experience, and for me, my curiosity around what outcomes they would present, and in what form, was such that it inspired me beyond the framework of “design as work.”

I happened to be involved at a time when many artists of my own generation (around 40 years) were invited to take part. As a designer, I tried to view the exhibitions as objectively as possible, but there is no doubt that the thoughts, words and practices of the artists who were my contemporaries seemed to shine, and I automatically sensed in them a kind of anthem-like energy and empathy. They seemed to be pushing their way through the hazy mist that had settled over us as individuals and as a society. Naturally this made me want to put even more effort into the design, an impulse that went beyond the role of work.

As I continued working and being moved by the activities of these artists every year, I got the feeling that my own way of thinking was gradually but surely being shaken. I could see how artists of my own generation were traveling around the world and expanding their horizons. At the same time, the designer working with them (me) remained stuck in Japan. At first I thought that was just the way it was, but I came to realize that if nothing changed I might not be good enough in the future.

An art exhibition is not created by artists alone. It is realized through the collaboration and efforts of the many people who gather there, including not only curators but also editors, designers and installers. Just like artists, these people verify and experience world events

and bring back their individual specialist experiences, increasing the potential for collaboration at exhibitions. And in order to enrichen art and culture in Japan going forward, what we really need is progress, like that of artists, among collaborators and systems. It was through my involvement in this exhibition that my own deficiencies and new frames of reference became clear.

These feelings of mine grew stronger year by year, culminating in my applying for the Overseas Study Program as a designer and heading for Amsterdam in 2019, on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic. The experiences I gained through my involvement in two institutions, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and AGA LAB, are not only very important to me today, but have also become a major personal theme that I am striving to apply here in Japan whenever I find the opportunity.

The Program of Overseas Study is extremely important for artists, but it is not limited to artists. The door is also open to many occupations that collaborate with artists, and I firmly believe that stepping through that door will help further vitalize art, culture and a diverse range of specialist fields in this country.