Joshibi University of Art and Design Art Museum is one of the organizations attached to the University, running two exhibition spaces on campus named Joshibi Art Museum and Joshibi Galleria Nike.
The University has produced many acclaimed artists, designers and educators since the foundation in 1900, pursuing its three educational philosophies: empowering the self-reliance of women through the arts, improving the social status of women, and producing women educators in the arts. It offers teaching and research bringing out women’s infinite ability and possibility through art activities.
The Museum has actively been involved in gathering artworks so as to accumulate the histories of beauty, intelligence and the arts as a set of assets. Our collection includes not only artworks associated with the University but also a wide range of ones in fine art and craft together with historical materials from various times and cultures, all of which can also be used as resources for teaching and research. In this global era, we are firmly determined to contribute to the society through continuous academic research, which enables us to play a role as a center of art education and research in the future.
The University always makes every effort to develop the arts and culture, taking advantage of the Agreement of Cultural Promotion with Sagamihara City, where one of its campuses is located at, as well as the Agreement of Mutual Cooperation with Nirasaki-Omura Art Museum which houses a huge collection of artworks by women artists.
In order to achieve its organizational aims, the Museum is committed to
Implement activities helping women artists show their artworks.
Exhibit the achievements of art education and research by the University to the public.
Strengthen continuously its function of gathering information on the arts, while disseminating its own information among the public.
Contribute to the enrichment of the arts in the local community together with supporting activities by modern artists.
Joshibi Art Museum
Joshibi Art Museum is an exhibition space located on Sagamihara Campus. It aims to serve as an art place for the local people and community to deepen interactions with us in a setting where the rich nature of Sagamihara City is mixed with the arts. It provides around six exhibitions throughout the year, while offering educational programs such as public lectures, gallery talks and art workshops.
Joshibi Galleria Nike
Joshibi Galleria Nike is an exhibition space located on Suginami Campus. Every exhibition at this site reflects its gallery concept of “Connecting with the Society.” It is involved in the development of the arts in the local area.
Collection
The Museum has a collection policy with an emphasis on Joshibi graduates such as OKUBO Fukuko, KATAOKA Tamako, GOKURA Kazuko, TADA Minami, and MIGISHI Setsuko in addition to other artists associated with the University. At this time we have approximately 15,000 items in the entire collection after an acquisition of part of the former Kanebo Collection in 2009. What should be noted is that we hold one of the largest textile collections in Japan covering from the ancient to the contemporary times around the world. It has various kinds of items from Andean textiles, Egyptian Coptic textiles, Persian brocades, Indian Chintz, Indonesian Ikat, and Japanese Kosode, all of which possess not only artistic but also academic value.
We offer people an easy electronic access to some digital images taken from the collection. They can be viewed on the University’s website and on Cultural Heritage Online run by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan.
