Daiwa Foundation funds projects ranging from research into macroalgae restoration and aquaculture in Japan, to the UK premiere of performances and a masterclass by audiovisual art duo Usaginingen.

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation (www.dajf.org.uk) has published details of its Small Grants and Awards awarded to support a total of 29 UK-Japan projects in its latest funding round: September 2023.

A Daiwa Foundation Small Grant will support travel to the UK by performance duo Usaginingen (pictured) to perform the UK premiere of their new work ‘Black kite: Pulsation of souls’, and to deliver a keynote talk and masterclass focusing on audiovisual performance art at Flatpack Festival in Birmingham, May 2024.

Professional conservation practitioner Rebecca Lynam will travel to Japan to examine the integration of macroalgae restoration and aquaculture into the ‘blue carbon’ credit market in Japan to inform development and implementation of the UK domestic carbon credit scheme.

Five academics from Japan will take part in a two-day international symposium at the University of Cambridge, Department of Archaeology, on the theory, method, and context of the transition to farming in Japan and Britain, leading to the exchange of new ideas and new collaborations.

Ruairi Glasheen will travel to Sado Island to work on a documentary film charting the connection between the ancient art of Taiko drumming and its role within a rapidly changing and evolving culture.

Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone will travel to Scotland to take part in a musical collaboration between the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO), performing concerts in Edinburgh and Glasgow and taking part in pre-concert talks in May 2024.

Of the larger institutional collaborations selected in this round, the Hokusai Museum and Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) have been granted a Daiwa Foundation Award supporting travel from Japan by two curators and two craftspeople to facilitate an exhibition of digital projections and replicas of work by Katsushika Hokusai at two venues in Norfolk, which will form part of the year-long ‘Japan in Norwich’ series to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of SISJAC, summer 2024.

Another Daiwa Foundation Award will support University of Leicester, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, with Osaka Metropolitan University, Department of Biological Chemistry, to further the understanding of critical cellular chemical events that drive ageing and disease through reciprocal research trips by academics Dr Christopher Switzer and Dr Shingo Kasamatsu.

The full list of projects which received funding in the September 2023 round can be viewed here.

 

Background information:

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation is a UK charity, established in 1988 with a generous benefaction from Daiwa Securities Co Ltd. The Foundation’s purpose is to support closer links between Great Britain and Japan. It does this by awarding grants and scholarships in all fields of activity; by supporting educational exchanges and other bilateral initiatives between British and Japanese academics and students; and by organising a year-round events’ programme at Daiwa Foundation Japan House in London to increase understanding of Japan in the UK. The Foundation is represented in Japan by its Tokyo office. Further information about the Foundation and its activities is available at www.dajf.org.uk.

Press Enquiries
Susan Meehan
Grants and Scholarships Officer
Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
13/14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP TEL: 020 7486 4348   Email: grants@dajf.org.uk