The winners of "PUBLIC ART NOW" have been decided! Kaname Ueda was selected for the Grand Prize, Shoya Maruyama and Jo Takahashi for the Excellence Award, and Koichiro Higashi for the MYAF Special Award.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Grand Prize, Excellence Award, and MYAF Special Award in our outdoor artwork competition program, "PUBLIC ART NOW."

"PUBLIC ART NOW" is an open call program that aims to support artists in taking on new challenges through opportunities to present outdoor works, and to create opportunities for continued collaboration with Pasona art now Inc. and MEET YOUR ART.

For the artists who passed the first round of judging (document screening), a second round of judging was conducted, which consisted of presentations. After deliberation by the judges, Kaname Ueda was selected as the Grand Prize winner, and Shoya Maruyama and Jo Takahashi were selected as Excellence Award winners.
In addition, we have established a new "MYAF Special Award" for works that embody the concept of MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2026, and selected Koichiro Higashi for this award.

The Grand Prize, Excellence Award, and MYAF Special Award winners will each receive prize money, production costs, and other benefits appropriate to their respective awards.
Furthermore, the winning entries for the Grand Prize and the MYAF Special Prize will be exhibited as outdoor artworks within the "MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2026" venue.

As a symbolic piece of art for the festival, we hope it will create new encounters and dialogues with many visitors.

[PUBLIC ART NOW Overall Review]

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the many artists who submitted entries to this open call, despite the short application period. All of the proposals were of a high level of completion and possessed unique perspectives. The winning works were selected based on a comprehensive evaluation of their message and expressiveness as public art, their compatibility with the space, and their potential to create new experiences and dialogues for viewers.
We highly praised the work of Kaname Ueda, which was selected for the Grand Prize, not only for its concept of the relationship between himself and the land, which has been elevated into an expression that brings surprise and discovery to the viewer, but also for the high level of technical skill that supports this concept.
Furthermore, we recognized Higashi's work, which received the MYAF Special Award, not only for its unique and dynamic concept, but also for its original interpretation of the theme of industrial heritage, and for its proposal that suggests the potential of it as a device to generate positive energy while involving people and communities.
The winning works of the Grand Prize and the MYAF Special Prize will be exhibited outdoors at the "MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2026" venue. Through encounters with the many visitors to the festival, these works are intended to be developed as public art that generates new dialogues and experiences. Furthermore, the Grand Prize and Excellence Award winners will also have the opportunity to exhibit their work at a gallery in Minami-Aoyama operated by Pasona art now Co., Ltd., and we hope that this open call will lead to further success for them.

[Award Winner's Comments]
Grand Prize: Kaname Ueda
I am truly honored to receive the Grand Prize. I am delighted to be involved in a project related to "MEET YOUR ART," which I had only seen on screen before. In these times when opportunities to present artwork outdoors are becoming increasingly rare, I am deeply grateful for the creation of this valuable exhibition space and the opportunity to take on a new challenge.


MYAF Special Award: Koichiro Higashi
Thank you for selecting my work for the PUBLIC ART NOW "MYAF Special Award." I envision erecting a single chimney in Tokyo, lighting a fire at its base, and creating a space for people to gather and share food. People will come together, exchange words, and reflect on the landscape of the now-vanished chimney. I look forward to seeing how this award will lead to the creation of new landscapes around my work.


Excellence Award: Shoya Maruyama, Minoru Takahashi