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

Kanagawa Prefectural Hall, which had been a beloved venue for many people for half a century, closed its doors at the end of March 2025 (Reiwa 7).
Standing in the iconic location in front of Yamashita Park, this place has etched countless memories not only in music and performing arts but also in the field of fine arts, making it an indispensable presence when discussing the culture of Kanagawa Prefecture.
The Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition, which boasts a 60-year history, has been deeply connected to that prefectural hall.

An art exhibition that began as a stepping stone for young talent.

The Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition began in 1965 (Showa 40) at the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, located on the grounds of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura. At the time, the acceptance rate was a mere 7.5%, and with the aim of making it a stepping stone for emerging artists, the grand prize winner was awarded 1 million yen in study abroad funds.
It's easy to imagine how significant winning an award at this art exhibition must have been for young people who are staking their future on their creative work.

The diverse forms of expression fostered at the prefectural hall

Since the opening of the Prefectural Hall in front of Yamashita Park, the venue for art exhibitions has moved to the hall's gallery, and while offering a diverse range of fields including "two-dimensional and three-dimensional art," "crafts," "calligraphy," and "photography," it has launched the careers of numerous artists.
Artists who are still active on the front lines today have shown their talent early on at this venue, including Tomoko Aso (winner of the Grand Prize in the "Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Art" category at the 53rd VOCA Exhibition), who has been selected multiple times for her unique style of painting that surveys "everyday life in Japan"; Tetsu Fujimori (winner of the Hamagin Foundation Prize in the "Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Art" category at the 52nd Taro Okamoto Contemporary Art Award (TARO Award)); and Atsuhiko Misawa (winner of the Special Selection Award at the 30th VOCA Exhibition), who is also known as a specially appointed professor at Musashino Art University and holds exhibitions at museums throughout Japan.

A turning point with the temporary closure, and moving on to the "next" step.

Due to the closure of the Prefectural Hall, the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition for fiscal year 2025 (Reiwa 7) will suspend its open call for submissions. However, this is not the end, but rather a period of preparation for a new beginning.
In order to continue providing a platform for interaction and mutual encouragement among artists through the common language of art, the venue will be moved to Kamakura City in fiscal year 2026 (Reiwa 8), and the call for submissions will be reopened (exhibition will be held from February to March 2027).

As an open call exhibition, we will continue to

From the 52nd exhibition in 2016 (Heisei 28), it transitioned to a nationwide open call exhibition that accepts entries regardless of age, affiliation, or nationality, becoming a platform to discover new talent not only from Kanagawa Prefecture but from all over Japan.

With the closure of the Prefectural Hall Gallery, which has been a beloved venue for 50 years, the exhibition will continue its journey while exploring new ways of accepting submissions, including a review of the submission guidelines.

Furthermore, the "Special Exhibition for Junior and Senior High School Students," which has been held concurrently with the art exhibition since the 50th edition in 2014 (Heisei 26), was also held this year to provide opportunities for junior and senior high school students in the prefecture to present their work.
The Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition is scheduled to continue in fiscal year 2026 (Reiwa 8), and will continue to play its role as a place to nurture the next generation of artists.

For those who felt that open call exhibitions were too difficult, now might actually be the perfect time to take on a new challenge.
Along with the memories left behind by the Prefectural Hall, the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition will move forward into the next era.