About

ARCUS Project aims to support promising artists who engage in creative activities across the world, and also, to promote the Ibaraki area through art. This project started in 1994 as a test artist-in-residence program that was an initiative of the Ibaraki Prefectural Government. By collaborating with emerging artists, curators, and prospective art managers, ARCUS Project connects the Ibaraki area with art, and encourages residents of the city of Moriya to voluntarily participate in various art projects that include exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and film screenings. Our project offers various programs, particularly for children, in order to cultivate flexibility, receptivity, and creativity in adapting to new cultural environments with other artists from different regions.

Local Information

ARCUS Studio which is the base of ARCUS Project is located in Moriya City, the south part of Ibaraki. Moriya has about 60,000 population, and it is one of the closest towns to the center of Tokyo in Ibaraki (40km from Tokyo, 40 minutes by Tsukuba Express train, 1 hour by Express bus). Moriya city is surrounded by three rivers, Tone, Kinu and Kokai. It had been formerly a castle town and became a farm village after that. Since Tsukuba Express opened, the city has drastically changed as a commuter town for the business people working in Tokyo and a lot of new residential areas have been developed. At the same time, one can still find the quiet local farm landscape in the town which shows the sharp contrast with newly constructed area.

Network Affiliations

• Res Artis
• On the Move