Kanno Ayumi

Profile

Born in 1994 in Tokyo. Lives and works in Tokyo. Completed a Ph.D. in Fine Arts (Oil Painting) at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2025.
Her practice focuses on folklore, including local stories, customs, and ghost tales rooted in places. Through installations combining video, drawing, and sculptural elements, she explores alternative possibilities that might have existed and presents them as “Alternative Folklore.”

Recent exhibitions and activities
2025 “Boring process,” Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo
2023 “Halloween Cities of To-Morrow,” SACS, Tokyo
2023 “ICC Annual 2023: Shapes of Things,” NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC], Tokyo
2023 “The Hollow Pageant,” YAU Studio, Tokyo
2022 “News From Atopia,” COURTYARD HIROO, Tokyo

Awards
2024 “29th Campus Genius Contest,” NEW CHITOSE GENIUS Prize
2023 “Contemporary Art Foundation Award 2023,” Grand Prize
2021 “A-TOM ART AWARD 2021,” Special Prize

About works

Folklore can be understood as the collective body of knowledge, stories, and beliefs passed from person to person. However, not all narratives are remembered, valued, or transmitted in the same way. I am interested in the processes and conditions through which some stories are preserved, while others are forgotten, transformed, or retold within new contexts. Through my work, I investigate the historical backgrounds and personal emotions embedded within folklore. By tracing these roots, I explore untold stories and alternative possibilities that may have existed. At the same time, I consider how new forms of folklore might emerge from contemporary experiences and become part of future collective memories.