60 Years with Kanagawa Prefectural Hall: The Past and Future of the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition

Kanagawa Prefectural Hall, which has been loved by many people for half a century, will close at the end of March 2025 (Reiwa 7).
Located in the iconic location in front of Yamashita Park, this place has been home to countless memories not only of music and performing arts but also of the fine arts, and is an essential part of the culture of Kanagawa Prefecture.
The Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition, which has a 60-year history, has been deeply connected to the Prefectural Hall.

An art exhibition that began as a gateway for young talent

The Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition began in 1965 at the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, located on the grounds of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura. At the time, the selection rate was only 7.5%, making it a very difficult competition, and with the aim of making it a "stepping stone for up-and-coming artists," the grand prize winner was awarded 1 million yen to study abroad.
It is not difficult to imagine how much winning this art exhibition meant to a young man who is betting his future on creative work.

Diverse expressions fostered by the Prefectural Hall

Since the Prefectural Hall opened in front of Yamashita Park, art exhibitions have been held at the museum's gallery, and with a diverse range of categories including "two-dimensional art," "crafts," "calligraphy," and "photography," the museum has introduced many creative artists to the world.
Artists who are still active at the forefront of their fields have shown their talents at this venue from an early stage, including Aso Tomoko (53rd Grand Prize in the 2D/3D category), who has been selected for the VOCA exhibition multiple times for her unique style of painting that takes a bird's-eye view of "everyday life in Japan"; Fujimori Satoshi (52nd Hamagin Foundation Prize in the 2D/3D category), who won the Special Prize at the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art (TARO Award); and Misawa Atsuhiko (30th Special Selection), who is also known as a professor at Musashino Art University and holds exhibitions at art museums around the country.

The turning point of the museum closure and moving on to the next step

Due to the closure of the Prefectural Hall, the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition will suspend public submissions for 2025 (Reiwa 7). However, this is not the end, but a period of preparation for a new step.
In order to ensure that this space for artists to communicate through the common language of art and to hone their skills in the future, the venue is scheduled to move to Kamakura City in 2026 (Reiwa 8) and open applications will be accepted again (the exhibition will be held from February to March 2027).

As an open exhibition,

From the 52nd exhibition in 2016 (Heisei 28), the exhibition became a nationwide open call exhibition, open to all ages, affiliations, and nationalities, making it a place to encounter new talent not only from Kanagawa Prefecture but from all over Japan.

With the closure of the Prefectural Hall Gallery, which has served as the venue for 50 years, the exhibition will continue to move forward while exploring new ways of accepting submissions, including revising its submission regulations.

In addition, the "Special Exhibition for Junior and Senior High School Students" aimed at junior and senior high school students in the prefecture, which has been held in conjunction with the art exhibition since the 50th exhibition in 2014 (Heisei 26), was held again this year to ensure an opportunity for them to present their work.
The exhibition is scheduled to continue in 2026 (Reiwa 8), and the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition will continue to play its role as a place to nurture the next generation of artists.

For those who have felt that public exhibitions are a high hurdle, now may be the time to take on a new challenge.
With the memories left by the Prefectural Hall, the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition will move forward into the next era.