ALIMO

ALIMO was born in 1977, a Japanese artist and Estonian art historian based in Japan and Estonia. Associate professor at Aichi University of the Arts. He is a Ph.D. in Animation. Fellow of The Japan Society for Animation Studies, The Japan Society of Image Arts and Sciences, and The Kansai Society for Surrealism studies. After working as a medical cameraman, he studied oil painting and animation at Tama Art University, International Academy of Media Arts and Science (IAMAS), Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology (India) and Department of Animation, the Graduate School of Film and New Media of Tokyo University of Art. He has been working as an artist under the name of ALIMO in Bangalore and Tallinn, these cities where the poor and the IT industry are mixed, and has mainly presented animation works. His animated works focusing on a Fairy tales and a Play have visions of ‘Magnetic field’ based on “Animation Tableau,” the original method for creating animation. Among many prestigious art exhibitions and international film festivals, his works had shown in museums and international film festivals in more than 30 countries. He was granted as a budding artist from the Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Art Promotion Foundation. He had been a theoretical and practical researcher of animation as a visiting researcher at Estonian Academy of Arts for two years from 2012. After returning to Japan, he wrote ethnographic Estonian animation history and obtained a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts. As a historian, he began researching animation and caricature, and contributed to the magazine “TRANSIT”. Through these experiences, he has rediscovered the strength of drawing and has been showing his drawings under the artist name Arimo ARIMOCHI since 2019. A collection of his works, “Standing Man,” was published in 2020. A limited edition poster-type collection of his works, "Rhizome Sketch: Clouds and Thriving plants," was published in 2022.

Solo Exhibition

2023 “Akira ARIMOCHI's Drawings and Surrealism” Kyoto Sangyo University Gallery/Kyoto
2022 “Rhizome Sketch: Clouds and Thriving plants” Galerie LIBRAIRIE6/Tokyo (aka "Arimo ARIMOCHI")
2020 “Standing Man” Calo Bookshop&Cafe/Osaka (aka "Arimo ARIMOCHI")
“Standing Man” Galerie LIBRAIRIE6/Tokyo (aka "Arimo ARIMOCHI")
2016 “Animation for music based on 'ground zero, 6th August and dog walk'” the Former Bank of Japan, Hiroshima Branch/Hiroshima
2015 “ALIMO” Akiyoshidai International Art Village (AIAV)/Yamaguchi
2010 “Hironagayamamotoarimochi/” Art Center Ongoing/Tokyo
2007 “Geopolitics” VOICE GALLERY/Kyoto

Group Exhibition

2023 “Behind the Scenes” Galerija SC/Croatia
2021 “Circus Story” Galerie LIBRAIRIE6/Tokyo (aka "Arimo ARIMOCHI")
“HB WORK Competition vol.1 Exhibition” HB Gallery/Tokyo (aka "Arimo ARIMOCHI")
2019 “Surrealism and Dali” Morohashi Museum of Modern Art/Fukushima
2018 Concert stage visual design (Animation Director) of “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, Takeshi Kobayashi: Symphonic Suite 'Beyond The Circle'” Echigo-Tsumari Auditorium・Tokamachi Central Community Center "Danjuro"
“aspect” Hatsukaichi Art Gallery/Hiroshima
2017 “HIROSHIMA CODE” the Former Bank of Japan, Hiroshima Branch/Hiroshima
“IMAGO MUNDI” Gallerie delle Prigioni Treviso/Venice
2016 “Standing on the earth, looking up into the sky” Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi/Gunma
“Japan Media Arts Festival in Hiroshima” The Former Bank of Japan, Hiroshima Branch Building/Hiroshima
“Pola Museum Annex 2016” Pola Museum Annex/Tokyo
2015 “18th DOMANI” The National Art Center, Tokyo/Japan
“Tales & Fables from India & Japan: Animation, Film and Photography” Yokohama Civic Art Gallery, Tokyo University of the Arts/Japan
“Tales & Fables from India & Japan: Animation, Film and Photography” Japan Foundation New Delhi/India
“Tales & Fables from India & Japan: Animation, Film and Photography” Design Gallery, National Institute of Design/India
2014 “Material and Mechanism” Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (ACAC)/Aomori
“Folkestone Triennial Fringe: UNLOCKING THE DIARY: The Archiving of Nameless Memories” Folkeston/UK
“Animation gose MSU” Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art/Croatia
2013 “Move on Asia/Video Art in Asia 2002 to 2012” ZKM/Karlsruhe
“The 16th Japan Media Arts Festival・Art Division” The National Art Center/Tokyo
2012 “TERATOTERA Festival 2012 [NEO Public]” Kichijyoji Baus Theater/Tokyo
“Tomorrow is today, I see for the first time” SNOW Contemporary・XYZ Collective/Tokyo
2011 “Moving Tableau Exhibition” SKIPCITY Sai-No-Kuni Visual Plaza/Saitama
“Move on Asia-The End of Video Art” CASA Asia Barcelona/Spain
“Japan Art Donation” Fukushima, Tokyo
2010 “Hiroyuki Oki presents・Neo Hybrid Proclamation2 House and Body” VACANT/Tokyo
2009 “The 12th Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art” Taro Okamoto Museum of Art,KAWASAKI/Kanagawa
2008 “IKIMONODUKUSHI”VOICE GALLERY/Kyoto
“The 11th Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art” Taro Okamoto Museum of Art,KAWASAKI/Kanagawa
2007 “Move on Asia 2007” Gallery Loop/seoul etc
“-Ima-karada- IAMAS in Tokyo Exhibition” Spiral Garden/Tokyo
“Sogako4” VOICE GALLERY/Kyoto
2006 “+VIDEO AWARD 2006” +Gallery/Aichi
“OGAKI BIENNALE 2006 SNAPSHOT EXHIBITION Animation Harvest” Softopia etc/Gifu
“Cow Parade Tokyo in MARUNOUCHI 2006” (invitation work) Otemachi, Marunouchi,Yurakucyo area/Tokyo
“EIZONE@BankART1929・EIZONE Media ART Market” BankART1929 Yokohama1F/Yokohama
2005 “appel Vol.23 Gallery project・post postwar ? Independent” appel/Tokyo
“open atelier vol.2” Miraikobo/Tokyo
2004 “Tokyo Compe #1” Maru building/Tokyo

Projection

2023 “CutOut Fest International Animation and Digital Art Festival”, Querétaro/Mexico
“Primanima World Festival of Fisrt Animations”, Silhouettes, Budapest/Hungary
“Mumba International Short Film Festival”, Mumbai/India
“Image Forum Festival”, East Asian Experimental Competition, Tokyo/Japan (Japan premiere)
“Chaniartoon - International Comic & Animation Festival”, Chania/Greece
“WFAF - World Festival of Animated Film Varna”, Animation Shorts, Varna/Bulgaria
“World Festival of Animated Film Animafest Zagreb”, Grand Competition, Zagreb/Croatia (World premiere)
2019 “JAPANESE ART ANIMATION COLLECTION Vol.004” Lumen Gallery/Kyoto
2017 “ANIMALGAM 01” Tokyo
“IAMAS ARTIST FILE #04” The Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu/Gifu
“Body! Rhythm! Film!” Yokohama Museum of Art/Yokohama
2016 “Illuminations and Narratology” FLAG STUDIO/Osaka
“Holland Animation Film Festival 2016” Utrecht/Netherlands
2015 "Märchen and Play" Theater Cafe/Nagoya
2014 “Fabrica Utopia festival” Athens/Greece
“Video Art Festival miden 2014” Kalamata/Greece
“Fest Anca/International Animation Festival 2014” Zilina/Slovakia
“Daily Reflectionsat” at Total Museum of Contemporary Art Seoul/Korea
“GUNMA Manga・AnimeFesta” Gunma/Japan
“Japan Media Arts Festival @ Aichi” Aichi/Japan
2013 “ZubrOFFka International Short Film Festival” Bialystok/Poland
“The 2nd Chofu・Machi Cinema” Tokyo/Japan
“KOBE Biennale 2013” Kobe/Japan
“Espacioenter Canarias” Tenerife/Spain
“Sendai Short Film Festival 2013” Sendai/Japan
“Arita Contemporary Art Garden Place” Saga/Japan
“Sapporo International Short Film Festival 2013” Sapporo/Japan
“Fukuoka Independent Film Festival 2013”Fukuoka/Japan
“International contemporary Video Art Festival "Waterpieces"” Riga/Latvia
“Animation and Music Short Film Festival”All over/Japan
2012 “LES SOMMETS DU CINEMA D’ANIMATION DE MONTREAL” Montreal/Canada
“Etiuda&Anima 2012” Krakow/Poland
“Istanbul Animation Festival 2012” Istanbul/Turkey
“Anilogue International Animation Festival 2012・Anime Haiku Programme” Budapest/Hungary
“Animated Dreams 2012” Tallinn/Estonia
“Smart Illumination YOKOHAMA 2012・Animation Forest” Yamashita Park/Yokohama
“Sydney International Animation Festival 2012” Sydney/Australia
“Vancouver International Flim Festival 2012” Vancouver/Canada
“17th Nagaoka Film Festival” Nagaoka Lyric Hall/Nagaoka
“Saopporo Short Fest 2012” Theater Kono/Saopporo
“Melbourne International Animation Festival 2012・New Japanese Animation at a Glance” Melbourne/Australia
“Yokohama France Animation Festival 2012” Jack&Betty/Yokohama
“Animafest Zagreb 2012 Student Competition”Zagreb/Croatia
“Himeji International Short Film Festival” Egret Himeji/Himeji
“ImageForum Festival 2012” Tokyo, Kyoto, Aichi, Fukuoka, Yokohama
“GEIDAI ANIMATION 03 TALK” Theater Cafe/Nagoya
“Chinese International College Animation Biennale” China Academy of Arts/China
“GEIDAI ANIMATION 03 TALK” EUROSPACE/Tokyo
“GEIDAI ANIMATION 03 TALK” Tokyo University of the Arts/Tokyo
2011 “Animated Dreams 2011” Tallinn/Estonia
“Yokohama France Animation Festival 2011” Jack&Betty/Yokohama
“GEIDAI ANIMATION 02 SOURCE” Tokyo University of the Arts/Tokyo
2010 “GTS Sightseeing Art Project 2011” Oyokogawashinsui-park/Tokyo
2009 “Permanent screen(1/12-4/12)” Hyundai Department Store/Seoul
2008 “Animation raised all together” Noi C.S.E.H/Nagoya
“ISEA 2008” Singapore each place/Singapore
2007 “ICAF 2007” The National Art Center/Tokyo, Goethe-Inastitut Kyoto/Kyoto
“Satellite of Animation” Space-neo/Tokyo
“UTSUSHIKAGAMI-NO-EHON” Shimamura bookshop/Nagoya
“Hida International Animation Festival 2007 IAMAS theater” Hida Earth Wisdom Center/Gifu
2006 “The 11th Hiroshima International Animation Festival・Japanese Animation Today” ASTAL PLAZA/Hiroshima

Award

2012 “The 16th Japan Media Arts Festival/Art Division” Jury Selections
2009 “The 12th Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art” Nominate
2008 “The 11th Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art” Special prize
2004 “Tokyo Compe #1” Hibino Katsuhiko prize

Grant

2013 “Grants for Overseas Study by Young Artists” The Pola Art Foundation/Tokyo
2012 “The Japanese Government Overseas Study Programme for Artists” Agency For Cultural Affairs/Tokyo
2007 “Taguchi Academy Scholarship” Taguchi Fukujyukai Foundation/Gifu

Artist in Residence

2015 Akiyoshidai International Art Village (AIAV) residency term: Sep/Yamaguchi/Japan
2014 Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (ACAC) residency term: Sep - Dec/Aomori/Japan