Artist in Residence KOBE

Open Calls

Host organization
Association HAAYMM
Address
Yamaguchi house 2F, 4-16-7, Kitano-cho, Chuo ward, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0002 Japan
Website
https://airk.haaymm.org/

Overview
AIR Program information

Objective	Artist in Residence KOBE (AiRK) operates an artist-in-residence program in Kitano, a district located at the foot of the mountains in Chuo Ward, Kobe. Through the “AiRK OPEN CALL,” we provide accommodation for artists working across a wide range of disciplines and support their research, residency-based creative activities, and community engagement programs. Through the “Partnership Program in Kobe,” we collaborate with cultural institutions and organizations throughout Kobe to host invited artists. Through the “Program by AiRK,” we invite artists from Japan and abroad to organize events. Through these activities, AiRK aims to welcome artists while engaging with the history, environment, and people of Kobe, and to further expand the city’s cultural diversity.
Organization activities	○ Management and operation of artist residency facilities ○ Hosting artists selected through open calls and providing support for community exchange programs ○ Providing accommodation for artists invited through residency programs organized by cultural institutions in Kobe ○ Inviting artists from Japan and abroad to hold exhibitions, performances, and other events
Founded in	2022
Background	In 2021, six volunteers based in Kobe came together in response to the growing need for a place that could support both artists and local cultural institutions. In 2022, they established HAAYMM and launched Artist in Residence KOBE (AiRK).
Location / Environment	AiRK occupies the second and third floors of a renovated apartment building originally constructed for foreign residents in the 1960s in the Ijinkan district of the Kitano area in Chuo Ward, Kobe. It spans a total of 260 square meters. Since the opening of the Port of Kobe in 1868, the Kitano-cho has been a neighborhood where foreign residents and Japanese have lived side by side. Influenced by the introduction of overseas cultures and industries, the area has developed into a place where diverse cultural traditions coexist, creating a distinctive international atmosphere. In addition to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, the neighborhood is home to an Indian temple, a Jewish synagogue, an Islamic mosque, as well as Catholic, Protestant, Greek, and Russian churches. It is rare, even on a global scale, to find such a concentration of different religious institutions located within such close proximity and sustained over time. By spending time in a place where multiple perspectives, faiths, and ways of life coexist within a single community, artists may discover new subjects and ideas that would not emerge elsewhere. Through residency activities and community engagement programs, AiRK seeks to create opportunity for these perspectives to be shared more broadly beyond the local context.
Notes	Organizer and Operator: Association HAAYMM Corporate Partners: CrowdWorks, Inc., TKW finance, Kobe Bunka Mother Port Club, DAIWA LEASE CO.,LTD and more Partner Institutions and Projects: Dancebox, C.A.P. (The Conference on Art and Art Projects), Kobe Kitano Museum, Haioku LLC, Kobe Institute for Atmospheric Studies (KOIAS), Kobe Bunka Hall, Shinkaichi Community Center for Arts and Interaction, Seishin Chuo Hall, VAGUE KOBE, Design and Creative Center Kobe(KIITO), Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, EAT LOCAL KOBE, and KOBE ROKKO MEETS ART *as of Sep. 2026
Contact	Artist in Residence KOBE (AiRK) Contact: Mari Matsushita Yamaguchi House 2F-3F, 4-16-7 Kitano-cho, Chuo ward, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0002 Japan E-mail: airk.haaymm@gmail.com facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/airk.kobe/ Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/airk.kobe/

Facility information

Studio information

Not available

AiRK does not have a dedicated studio. However, the use of studio spaces at partner cultural institutions may be arranged upon request.

Accommodations

Available

AiRK has five private rooms: four twin rooms accommodating up to two residents each, and one single room. Residents share a kitchen, living room, and bathrooms.

Presentation space

Not available

AiRK does not have a dedicated presentation space. Depending on the nature of the resident’s project, access to presentation venues may be arranged in collaboration with AiRK’s partner cultural institutions, subject to availability.

Program Support

Support Provided

A dedicated coordinator
Accommodation and studio space
Coordination and support for community engagement programs, including exhibitions, talks, and workshops