Osaka EXPO EU-Japan Animation Residency: Bridging cultures through the art of animation

In 2025, as the world gathers in Osaka for the World Expo, a unique creative collaboration will take shape at the intersection of tradition and innovation. The Osaka EXPO EU-Japan Animation Residency will bring together visionary animators from Europe and Japan, inviting them on a six-month journey of cultural exchange, co-creation and sparking long-term partnership. This residency is within the larger ‘animation package’ initiative by the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS) as part of their participation in EXPO 2025. This is the first time the EU has its own pavilion at an EXPO since EXPO Milan 2015.

Inspired by EXPO 2025’s theme, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” the residency will explore how animation—a medium rooted in both storytelling and technology—can weave together the past and the future. Drawing from the rich performative arts of the Kansai region – Bunraku, Roukyoku, Kawachi-Ondo, Shomyo, artists will reinterpret traditional forms through a contemporary lens, creating original works that embody the spirit of cross-cultural dialogue.

The programme brings ten artists from Europe and Japan together, as well as two curators. They will work with each other to present short animation clips to showcase the results of this cross-cultural collaborative programme. The list of artists and curators is as follow:

Artists:

Laura Gonçalves (Portugal)
Baku Hashimoto (Japan)
Edmunds Jansons (Latvia)
Sander Joon (Estonia)
Masa Kudo (Japan)
Noémie Marsily (Belgium)
Lucija Mrzljak (Croatia)
Sumito Sakakibara (Japan)
Shinobu Soejima (Japan)
Honami Yano (Japan)

Curators :

Clémence Bragard (France)
Koyo Yamashita (Japan)

A journey across continents

Implemented by the EEAS and the Cultural Relations Platform, in partnership with Image Forum Tokyo and with the cooperation of the Kyoto Municipal Office, the residency will unfold in three dynamic phases. It kicks off with a two-week stay in Kansai, Japan from April 23 to May 9, in time to celebrate Europe Day at the EXPO site. Artists will experience traditional Japanese arts, visit the Osaka EXPO 2025 and the EU Pavilion, and take part in masterclasses and pitch sessions and workshops. Next, the artists will head to France for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June to present their projects under the “From Tradition to Vision: European & Japanese Artists in Residency” pitch session and network with animation industry professionals. The final phase, running online from May to October 2025 will provide mentorship and guidance to help the artists refine their new collaborative animation clips.

For media inquiries, please contact: cultural.relations.platform@goethe.de