Japanese Government (MEXT) Personal Experiences

Name: Katrín Gunnarsdóttir
Scholarship program: MEXT Research (Graduate) program
University in Japan: Tokyo University of the Arts (東京藝術大学)
Duration of the study: 2022 -

こんにちは！I’m Katrín. I am a recipient of the MEXT scholarship from the year 2022 and have been living in Tokyo for the past year. I am currently a research student at Tokyo University of the Arts, studying in the field of Curating. The reason that I wanted to study in Japan was mainly my interest in Japanese culture, especially their ideas of space. There is a concept in Japanese, which is hard to translate, but it’s called MA 間. It revolves around this interval between things, both in regards to time and space. I got to know this concept in a book written by Japanese graphic designer, Kenya Hara called White. There Hara explores the potentiality that lies in emptiness and connects these ideas to the concept of MA 間. I believe that this concept is vital when it comes to curating exhibitions as the space in between each work, and the space we are exhibiting in, is in my opinion as important as the work itself. That is why I chose to pursue my postgraduate studies in Japan.

Tokyo University of the Arts has a strong international department called Global Arts. I wanted to study in Tokyo as the contemporary arts scene here is very vibrant. Also, it was a big plus that they offered a program in English as I did not have any previous experience with learning Japanese.

It has been wonderful being in Japan for the past year. I absolutely love the contrast of Tokyo as a city, as you can both get the crazy neon, over sensory experience of Shibuya but then you can also seek refuge in quieter areas, parks and temples very easily. Although it is a very big city, it’s still very quiet which suited me well having grown up in Akureyri! Definitely the most challenging parts since coming here have been the language barriers, but it’s all getting better as my Japanese improves, 今がんばります！A lot of the first procedures that I had to go through, bank and city hall, all had to be done in Japanese.

I am seeking entrance to the masters degree this summer, as I still have to pass the entrance examination for the university, so hopefully I will start my master studies in April next year. Currently I am trying to get to know as many new interesting artists as I possible can, to build up a resource for my future work as a curator, as well as working on my research plan. My colleagues and I are also working on an exhibition opening this July in a gallery here in Tokyo, so very exciting times ahead here in Japan!