Example by Year

The Association for the Study of Modern Japanese Art History, founded in 1984, has various members, including university researchers, restorers, editors, and curators. By looking at artworks not just as images but as substances or objects, the Association has discovered enormous amounts of materials surrounding those artworks and continued close verification of historical details. Taking the opportunity of the Association’s 40th anniversary to return to its starting point, this two-day symposium was held to question what the Association has elucidated and overlooked and what is still unseen and to explore the potential of future art research and study. The Ishibashi Foundation supported the first-day session on November 23, 2004.

Held in Tokyo as a spin-off of the international symposium JAPAN DESIGN. Arts over the boundaries held in October 2022 at the University of Milan, Italy. The symposium began with a lecture by design consultant Mr. Gordon Bruce, "Designing 'me.' Staying true to my culture." In the talk session, Italian and Japanese designers talked about design and life: Mr. Giorgetto Giugiaro and Mr. Makio Hasuike for "Giving out Dreams. The DESIGN + LIFE that Legends Talk About.," and Mr. Michele De Lucchi, Mr. Toshiyuki Kita, Mr. Setsu Ito, and Mrs. Shinobu Ito for "Italy and Japan. International Design and Culture Challenge."

The Ishibashi Foundation supported the restoration project of the armor presented to Napoleon III by the Japanese delegation to France at the end of the Edo period, which was buried in the palace warehouse. It was completed by a French restorer in February 2023 and is now on permanent display in the Château de Fontainebleau.

Japanese Narrative Art is uniquely positioned to link the enjoyment of art with daily life, and its forms are wide-ranging, including a picture scroll, an ukiyo-e, a folding screen, ceramics, lacquerware, and an uchikake (a women's robe with a trailing skirt worn over a kimono), etc. It was an ambitious exhibition presenting approximately 100 works of Japanese art from the 13th century to the 20th century, owned by art museums and individuals from 13 European countries, approaching Japanese Narrative Art from multiple angles. The Ishibashi Foundation supported the catalog's production.

The first festival of an international art festival to be held once every two years in various wards of Tokyo. A new type of art festival where artists and creators from a wide range of genres gather in Tokyo, going deep into the wards, and build a festival together with local residents. While struggling to cope with COVID-19, the festival achieved many participatory projects involving a wide range of people and areas. The total number of visitors was estimated to be 530,000.

An art event held in and around the Château de Fontainebleau started in 2011. Researchers in art history and other academic fields, art museum experts, artists, and others participate in the event, and it is open to the general public. It is also an opportunity for France and the invited country to decide on a theme, compare the two countries based on that theme, and present the latest in the world of art research. For the tenth event in 2020, Japan was the first Asian country to be invited, but the event was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, since Japanese invitees could not travel to France, the symposium was held in a hybrid format with both on-site and online venues. The Ishibashi Foundation supported the event and provided the Artizon Museum as one of the venues on the Japanese side.

ICOM (International Council of Museums) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1946 by museum experts and has over 37,000 members from 141 countries and regions around the world. The 25th ICOM General Conference was held for the first time in Japan. The theme of the conference was "Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition," with 4,590 participants (the largest number ever) and 120 participating countries/regions. The Ishibashi Foundation supported the conference and introduced the Artizon Museum at its booth, which opened in January 2020.

The "Ishibashi Foundation / The Japan Foundation Art Curator Exchange Program," which is aimed at fostering an international network of curators interested in Japanese contemporary art, and the "Ishibashi Foundation/The Japan Foundation Fellowship for Research on Japanese Art," which provides overseas researchers and curators with opportunities to conduct research in Japan, were started.

A symposium was held at the University of Milan to explore the centuries-old relationship between Japan and Italy in the cultural and artistic fields. How Italy and Japan have enjoyed, expressed, and influenced each other's art was examined from each country's perspective, using themes such as art, photography, design, graphics, products, animation, film, and fashion. A total of 22 speakers, 12 from Japan and 10 from Italy, gave lectures, and 240 people participated in the two-day event. In addition to the cost of the symposium, the Ishibashi Foundation donated 551 books related to Japanese art.

The Ishibashi Foundation Visiting Professorship Program in Japanese Art History invites researchers from all over the world who specialize in Japanese art history as visiting professors to give special lectures for two months. The program has been supported continuously since 2005. To commemorate its 10th anniversary, a commemorative symposium was held at the Institute of East Asian Art History, Heidelberg University. Twenty-two researchers from eight countries took the stage and had enthusiastic discussions on current Japanese art history research as the theme. There were about 130 participants.

A program was started to support travel expenses and a local activity fund for students to study abroad or visit overseas art institutions during summer vacation. The program is still ongoing.

A European scholar majoring in Japanese art and a director or curator of an art museum or other museum with a collection related to Japan were invited to Japan each year to start a joint lecture series. A total of five lectures were held up to 2018.

Since 2012, the Ishibashi Foundation has continued to support the International Architecture Exhibition, which is held alternately with the Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition through the Japan Foundation.

Since 2011, the Ishibashi Foundation has been continuing to support art exhibitions at the Japan Pavilion, which Ishibashi Shojiro funded for its construction in 1956, through the Japan Foundation. The results of the exhibitions have been featured in returning exhibitions at Artizon Museum since it opened in 2020.

An international event for contemporary art that has been held in Sydney, Australia since 1973. Centered on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, the visual arts and other arts were juxtaposed at multiple venues throughout the city. The Ishibashi Foundation supported expenses related to Japanese artists, etc., and provided similar support in 2015 and 2017.

An international contemporary art event focusing on contemporary art from Asia, the Pacific, and Australia, held at the Queensland National Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia. The Ishibashi Foundation has been continuing to support the project since its sixth event in 2009. It has supported expenses related to Japanese artists, etc.