[Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture] Introduction to the Deaf Navigator Training Program – Learning to “see, think, speak, and listen” through interactive appreciation!
Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture Press release: September 8, 2025 To Members of the Press Introduction to the Deaf Navigator Training Program – Learning to “See, Think, Speak, and Listen” through Interactive Viewing – Now Open! Through interactive appreciation, we aim to become “navigators” who connect artworks with viewers. This six-day course is aimed at deaf people.
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collaborate with the Art Communication Research Center (ACC), which develops educational programs for interactive art appreciation, to offer a training program for “Deaf Navigators” who aim to work in art galleries and museums in the future. The course will incorporate interactive art appreciation techniques, create viewing spaces where deaf people can communicate effectively with each other, and aim to train navigators who can connect artworks with viewers. Event overview 【Course Dates】 1st Session: October 4th (Sat) and 5th (Sun), 2025 2nd: December 6th (Sat), 7th (Sun), 2025 3rd: January 17th (Sat), 18th (Sun), 2026 【Time】 10:30-16:00 each day (1-hour lunch break and other breaks as needed) 【Venue】 Arts Council Tokyo (4-1-28 Kudankita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) Access details:
https://www.artscouncil-tokyo.jp/access/ 【Lecturer】 Takahiro Date (Director, Art Communication Research Center / Professor, Kyoto University of the Arts) Target audience -Deaf people who are interested in/aiming to become deaf guides in the arts and culture field (regardless of age or experience) -Deaf people who can participate in the three-session (six-day) course 【How to
Participate】In-person participation only [Tuition Fee]Free
【Capacity】20 people 【Organizer】Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Arts Council Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture 【Planner】Kyoto University of Arts, Art Communication Research Center 【Management cooperation】Re; Signing Project Course content Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/38211/904/38211-904-e53fe051dae65d610595075a5e53fd30-3000×2000.jpg Photos of past programs (March 2024)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/38211/904/38211-904-313a27a33a988e13a06c8d195e16c158-3000×2000.jpg This course is a three-session (six-day) experiential course. The goal is for participants to carefully engage with the artworks themselves and hone their “appreciation skills,” which are the foundation of navigating. In addition to lectures by instructors, participants will engage in intensive practice in workshops using the four steps of the interactive appreciation program “ACOP (Art Communication Project)”: “See, Think, Speak, and Listen.” This will hone participants’ “visual literacy” and further develop their “ability to pose questions” to interpret artworks through dialogue. [Course theme] Part 1: Basics of Interactive Art Appreciation -What is Interactive Art Appreciation?- Part 2: Skills Necessary for Interactive Art Appreciation Implementers Part 3: Deepening Questions with Others *Interactive art appreciation originated in the late 1980s at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York with the Visual Thinking Curriculum (VTC), an art appreciation education program designed to deepen observation and thinking through dialogue. VTC was later developed for use in school education and systematized as “VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies).” When it was introduced and popularized in Japan in the 1990s, it was given the name “interactive art appreciation” and gradually became more widely used. The “ACOP (Art Communication Project)” is an interactive art appreciation education program and research activity based on VTC/VTS, developed and adapted for Japanese art college students. Currently, through interactive art appreciation facilitation courses and educational programs, ACOP fosters observation skills, information gathering, analytical abilities, and dialogue-leading skills. It is used in a variety of fields, including art museums, schools, medical settings, and corporations. Application Information (Application Period) [Application period] From Thursday, August 28, 2025 Friday, September 26th 【Notes】 Please check the following items before applying. ● The program content is subject to change. ● Applications will close early once capacity is reached. We encourage you to apply early. ● Sign language interpretation (Japanese Sign Language) will be provided on the day. If you have any inquiries regarding information security, etc., please indicate this on the application form. ● Group work within the course will be conducted in Japanese Sign Language. ● All classes will be held in person. There will be no online streaming. ● Staff will be taking photographs and recordings at the venue. Please note that these photographs may be published in future reports, on websites, etc. 【How to Apply】 Please fill out the required information on Peatix and apply. *Personal information will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used for the operation of and
communication about this project. Course application page:
https://rounavigator2025.peatix.com/ About lecturers and research centers
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/38211/904/38211-904-4c815a766003e58a9563c713a0fa2ec7-2000×1334.jpg Takahiro Date Director, Art Communication Research Center / Kyoto University of Arts Professor His areas of expertise are human science and clinical psychology. In 2007, he became involved in the analysis of Kyoto University of the Arts’ interactive art appreciation education program, “ACOP,” as an external researcher. Since 2009, he has been engaged in the research and practice of interactive art appreciation at Kyoto University of the Arts. In addition to teaching at the university, he also provides training in interactive art appreciation to art museum staff and school teachers nationwide, as well as training for medical and welfare professionals and corporate and business professionals. For four years from 2018, she has also been developing nursing education using interactive art appreciation at the Kansai Medical University School of Nursing. From 2020, she will be hosting a facilitator training course for outside universities at the Art Communication Research Center in order to improve the quality of interactive art appreciation in Japan.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/38211/904/38211-904-aa6fc00bc5c8e0cbdab7c7e9d7ca4c91-1800×1197.jpg About the Kyoto University of Arts Art Communication Research Center (ACC) Established in April 2009 with the aim of reexamining the nature and development of communication, the most important element for people to live among others, from the perspective of art education. Originating from the “VTC (Visual Thinking Curriculum)” art
appreciation education program developed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Kyoto University of the Arts has been applying the interactive art appreciation education program “ACOP (Art
Communication Project)” since 2004. The program is expanding its scope of activities year by year, conducting joint research with art museums and other universities across the country, collaborating with art festivals and art projects, and providing training for interpersonal support workers in the medical and welfare fields and business professionals. Website: https://www.acop.jp Reference Information □ About Creative Well-Being Tokyo This project aims to improve accessibility to arts and culture so that everyone, from infants to the elderly, regardless of disability or language or cultural differences, can easily encounter and participate in cultural facilities and art programs. https://creativewell.rekibun.or.jp □ About the Partner Program We are working to develop business models related to accessibility in the arts and culture fields by
collaborating with cultural facilities, NPOs, research institutions, welfare and medical institutions, and others both in Japan and abroad. □ About Arts Council Tokyo As a global city of arts and culture, Tokyo promotes the creation and dissemination of arts and culture and carries out a variety of projects to enhance the city’s appeal. We will work to establish a foundation for new artistic and cultural creation, develop programs that pursue Tokyo’s uniqueness and diversity, cultivate human resources to support diverse artistic and cultural activities, and promote international artistic and cultural exchange. https://www.artscouncil-tokyo.jp/
Inquiries regarding this project Social Coexistence Section, Project Coordination Division, Project Department, Arts Council Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture Contact: Takemaru, Kawamitsu TEL: 03-6256-8435 (Weekdays 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM) Email: info-cwt@artscouncil-tokyo.jp Inquiries regarding this release and publication Public Relations Section, Public Relations Division, Planning Department, Arts Council Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture Contact: Nagasawa, Yagyu TEL: 03-6256-8432 (Weekdays 10:00-18:00) E-mail: press@artscouncil-tokyo.jp
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