About

Australia is a land of old and new, where heritage and tradition extending back 40,000 years blends with contemporary culture. This exciting blend of ancient and cutting-edge expression is what makes Australia the dynamic and innovative society that it is today.

The Australian Embassy's Culture Centre website is dedicated to Australian arts in Japan, and Australia-Japan artistic collaboration. It aims to provide Australians with useful information on the Australian arts activities in Japan. The Embassy also issues "What's on Newsletter" and "Japanese Art Scene Monitor". We welcome your feedback on this website.

The Public Diplomacy Section of the Australian Embassy, Tokyo is part of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and has a proactive cultural program which aims to promote Australia's vibrant and diverse society in Japan.

Our key goals in Japan are to:

• promote positive perceptions and a greater understanding of contemporary Australia
• create greater awareness of, and larger audiences for, contemporary Australian arts and culture
• cultivate a long-lasting deeper understanding of Australia as a country of sophistication, diversity, creativity and innovation.

We work with relevant Australian and Japanese government agencies and arts organisations to foster strong cultural links between our two countries. Our approach is necessarily long-term - it can take many years to build close linkages, and it can take even longer for these linkages to bear fruit. We implement high quality projects aimed at making an impact and leaving a legacy.

Our major activities include:

• providing information on Australian arts and cultural projects through the Cultural Centre on the Embassy's website, e-newsletter and other public diplomacy tools;
• strengthening existing relationships and cultivating new networks between Australian and Japanese key cultural decision makers and arts professionals;
• consolidating Australia-Japan government-to-government partnerships that provide the foundation for bilateral cultural activities.

Some recent projects that the Embassy has initiated/collaborated on are:

• the "Setouchi Art Festival 2010"
• the "Australia House" at Echigo-Tsumari
• the tour in October 2010 by the Australian Ballet;
• Australian Jazz Wave at Tokyo Jazz Festival 2010
• the exhibition of Australia's leading indigenous artist, Emily Kame Kngwarreye in Osaka and Tokyo in 2008;
• a wide-ranging cultural program as part of the 2006 Australia-Japan Year-of-Exchange.

Other useful information is available from:

• The Australia-Japan Foundation, Canberra/Tokyo (information about grants)
• The Japan Foundation, Sydney (including information about grants)
• Austrade's offices in Japan