Since its establishment in 2000, Kyoto Art Center has been supporting the activities of emerging artists and researchers who seek to create new artistic expression through exposure to different cultures by offering an “Artist in Residence” program. Artists and researchers from Japan and abroad stay in Kyoto for a certain period of time to engage in creative activities and exchange.

We switch between hosting performing arts artist and visual artist every year. We welcome artists who explore the new form of expression in their own genre, or across genres. We are particularly interested in enthusiastic artists who can stimulate the creativity of Kyoto citizens.

“Artist in Residence Program 2026” was open for visual artists / researchers, and we are pleased to announce that one artist has been selected through a screening process from among 1487 applications.

Invited Artist：Ula Zuhra

Ula Zuhra will stay in Kyoto from November 2026 to February 2027 and work at Kyoto Art Center.

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【Reviewer’s Comment】
Artist in Residence Program 2026 received a record number of 1,487 applications. After a thorough review of all submitted materials and a three-stage selection process conducted by a total of 20 judges, we are pleased to announce that Ula Zuhra has been selected as the invited artist.

Ula primarily works with comics as her central artistic medium. The judge highly valued her critical approach, which reconsiders comics—often situated within the context of pop culture—as a new mode of preservation and archiving. Her practice incorporates elements of feminism, resistance, and social critique, expanding comics into a socially engaged artistic form. Furthermore, her practice resonates with the growing culture of artist books and zines within Japan. As these genres have had limited representation at Kyoto Art Center, we believe her residency will foster meaningful international exchange and introduce new perspectives to our programs. For these reasons, we determined that her stay in Kyoto would be of significant value and selected her for the 2026 residency.
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For more information about the Kyoto Art Center Artist-in-Residence Program, please click here.