Selected Works

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Performance art by Soya Arakawa — Bellin (Part), 2023

Installation artwork by Soya Arakawa — Kagami Ita, 2023, Photo credit Kunsthalle Münster Moritz Hagedorn

Contemporary drawing by Soya Arakawa — Kagami Ita, 2023, Photo credit Kunsthalle Münster Moritz Hagedorn

Sculpture by Soya Arakawa — Kagami Ita, 2023, Photo credit Kunsthalle Münster Moritz Hagedorn

Interdisciplinary art by Soya Arakawa — Longer Salon, 2023

Performance score by Soya Arakawa — Rarika Report, 2023, Photo credit Lisa Klosterkötter

Installation by Soya Arakawa — Rarika Report, 2023, Photo credit Lisa Klosterkötter

Drawing by Soya Arakawa — Rarika Report, 2023

Live art by Soya Arakawa — Tomodachi to, Installationsansicht, Photo credit Katja Illner

Choreographic installation by Soya Arakawa — Akechan, 2025, Photo credit Maximilian Kandora

Contemporary art by Soya Arakawa — Bellin (Part), 2023

Performance artwork by Soya Arakawa — Akechan, 2025, Photo credit Maximilian Kandora

Soya Arakawa interdisciplinary work — Akechan, 2025, Photo credit Maximilian Kandora

Installation art by Soya Arakawa — Akechan, 2025, Photo credit Maximilian Kandora

Artwork by Soya Arakawa — River runs through it 2016 in Lorsch

Work by Soya Arakawa — Project Cicciolino 2013

Soya Arakawa / 荒川創也

Instagram: @soya_ar.tacolv
Check my Instagram for the latest updates on exhibitions and performances!

Born: 1984, Hamamatsu, Japan
Lives and works in: Krefeld, Germany

Soya Arakawa, born in Hamamatsu-shi, Japan, in 1984, is a Japanese artist based in Krefeld, Germany. Trained at Kanazawa College of Art and Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Prof. Rita McBride, he explores sculpture, drawing, installation, and performance. His practice integrates choreography with spatial composition, creating dynamic installations and performance scores that often form the basis for live interdisciplinary works, where he performs as a singer, dancer, or instrumentalist. Arakawa’s art engages with themes of cultural identity, fiction, and self-mythology, blending contemporary and experimental forms.

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Portrait of Soya Arakawa, Japanese artist based in Krefeld, Germany — Photo credit Cheyenne Än Oswald

Performance Videos

Contact

Curriculum Vitae

Artist Information

Soya Arakawa / 荒川創也
Lives and works in Krefeld, Germany
Email: soya@tacolv.org
Tel: +49 176 8338 2447
Website: www.tacolv.org

Education

1984: Born in Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka-Ken, Japan
2011–2015: Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany, class of Prof. Rita McBride (Akademiebrief, Meisterschüler)
2009–2011: Guest student, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany, class of Prof. Rita McBride
2003–2007: Kanazawa College of Art, Japan (Bachelor in Sculpture)

Prizes and Residencies

2024: Borderland Residency (Moers)
2023: Institute Furkablick, Realp, Switzerland
2022: Residence NRW+ (One-year stipend and residency)
2015: 69. Internationale Bergische Kunstausstellung (Shortlist)
2014: Hogan Lovells Kunstförderpreis (2nd Prize)
2008: Exchange Residency Program (organized by Tokyo Wandersite), Taipei Artist Village, Taipei, Taiwan

Public Collection

2024: Akechan, Artothek Moers

Solo Performances

2025: Akechan, Weltkunstzimmer, Düsseldorf, Germany
2025: Morisue, Thisthat Gallery, Düsseldorf
2024: Bellin, Doppel Pass, Hawerkamp 31, Münster
2023: Score 2-3-4, nun lasst uns am Rhein zusammen treffen, um gemeinsam zu vergessen, dass ein Fluss auch eine Grenze sein kann, Kunst im Hafen e.V., Düsseldorf, Germany
2023: Bellin, Aqua Artefakt, Wasserturm an der Gutenbergstraße, Krefeld, Germany
2023: Rarika Report, Über Brücken – Bridging #3, Hohenzollernbrücke, Cologne, Germany
2023: Langer Salon, Produktive Räume. Kunst und Design aus Krefeld, Haus Lange Esters, Krefeld, Germany
2023: Ceramic, Art must be beautiful, Weltkunstzimmer, Düsseldorf, Germany
2023: all the way to, Kreativ-Haus Münster, Münster, Germany
2022: Makura, Bloom, Düsseldorf
2022: Utsukushii Mononotameni Utau, SOA, Krefeld, Germany
2020: Crystals, Market Gallery, Glasgow
2018: Salon Story, as part of the exhibition Es dauert, es ist riskant at Hans Arp Museum, Rolandseck, Germany
2015: Body Health and Koku Gaku, Kunstraum Düsseldorf, Germany
2014: One print for free, Gent, Belgium
2014: A Live Comedy Activity, lecture performance at Filmwerkstatt, Düsseldorf, Germany
2013: Nashinamure, Herz Jesu Kirche, Wuppertal, Germany
2013: Ceramic, Malkasten, Düsseldorf, Germany
2008: Decomposing Soya Arakawa, Barry Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2008: Praising Booth, TAV, Taipei, Taiwan

Collaborative/Group/Directed Performances

2023:
- The Teacher, directed by Agnes Scherer, Art City Bologna, Bologna, Italy
2022:
- do white, directed by miu, FFT Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
2021:
- Zo Hana Unagi / 象鼻鰻, directed by Soya Arakawa, with Baptiste Bersoux, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf
- Bibliopark, directed by miu, Stadtbüchereien Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
- Ghost3 Butoh Soundart Performance-Parcours II, with Yu Sonoda, Weltkunstzimmer, Düsseldorf
2020:
- The Teacher, directed by Agnes Scherer, Cabaret Voltaire, Zürich
- Passacaglia della vita, directed by Spine, Simultan Halle, Cologne
2019:
- Fermata, directed by miu at FFT Düsseldorf, Germany
- Tag H Ex, directed by miu at FFT Düsseldorf, Germany
- The Teacher, directed by Agnes Scherer at Kinderhook & Caracas, Berlin, Germany
2018:
- Empty Balloon Society Ex, directed by miu at FFT Düsseldorf, Germany
- Tag H, directed by miu at FFT Düsseldorf, Germany
- Erst wo die Dinge sich erschöpfen, beginnt die Wirklichkeit, Museum Alte Post, Pirmasens, Germany
- Cupid and the Animals, directed by Agnes Scherer at TRAMPS (offsite BAM Fisher), New York, USA
2017:
- Gebrauchsanweisungen zum Verschwinden, dance piece directed by Chikako Kaido, Terepsichol, Tokyo, Japan
- Empty Balloon Society, directed by miu at FFT Düsseldorf, Germany
- Cupid and the Animals, directed by Agnes Scherer at Museum Ludwig, Köln, Germany
- Gebrauchsanweisung zum Verschwinden, dance piece directed by Chikako Kaido at Weltkunstzimmer, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Cupid and the Animals, directed by Agnes Scherer at TRAMPS (offsite Copeland Gallery), London, UK
2016:
- Duo performance with miu, c!ang #13, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Die Insel, dance piece directed by Chikako Kaido at Weltkunstzimmer, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Zahntherapie, directed by Ivan Geddert, Tanzhaus Düsseldorf, Germany
- Der Meister kommt, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany
2013:
- Verantwortung, Schmela Haus, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Travel Log, Kunstverein Düsseldorf, Germany
- Dunamis, collaborative performance with Daisuke Inoue, Kanazawa Bidai Art Gallery, Kanazawa, Japan
2012:
- Inside the spaceship of VSC, collaborative performance with Vasileios Zarikatofis, Asta at Ausstellungsraum, Düsseldorf, Germany
2011:
- Spot, Galerie Arnaud Lefebvre, Paris, France
- Spot, Sammlung Philara, Düsseldorf

Solo Exhibitions

2024: Akechan, Pulverhaus beim Schlosstheater, Moers, Germany
2016: Rat Rat, Room with a view, Düsseldorf, Germany
2015: I’m a boy, Te-te, Kunstraum für bewegte Ideen, Düsseldorf, Germany
2011: Eine spektakuläre Einzelausstellung - die Antwort in meinen 30ern, SHaus, Krefeld, Germany

Group Exhibitions

2025: Akechan, BETWEEN BELONGING, Berlin, Germany
2025: Morisue, ThisthatGallery, Düsseldorf
2024: Bellin, Doppel Pass, Hawerkamp 31, Münster
2024: Day Off, Antagata Dokoso, Nora, Tokyo
2023: Score A-B-C, nun las Kunst aus Krefeld, Kunst im Hafen e.V., Düsseldorf, Germany
2023: Bellin, Aqua Artefakt, Wasserturm an der Gutenbergstraße, Krefeld, Germany
2023: Langer Salon, Produktive Räume. Kunst und Design aus Krefeld, Haus Lange Esters, Krefeld, Germany
2023: 鏡板 / Kagami-Ita, triple is funny, but double makes the money, Kunsthalle Münster, Germany
2022: Bonded, Bloom, Düsseldorf
2022: Effi & Pym, Muzeul Național al Hărților și Cărții Vechi, Bucharest
2022: Beatrice von Babel, Under the Boat, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Sala del Camino, Venezia, Italy
2022: Messengers: TAV & TOKAS 15th Anniversary Commemorative Exhibition, Taipei Artist Village, Taipei
2021: 友達と – „tomodachito“. Mit Freund*innen, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
2018: A Letter, Park Kultur, Düsseldorf, Germany
2017: Room with a view, Room with a View, Düsseldorf, Germany
2016: Mary & der Vulkan. Eine meteorologische Phantasmagorie, KIT, Düsseldorf
2015: Hochdruck, Galerie Spletstößer, Kaarst
2015: 5 x 3, Kunstraum Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
2015: 69. Internationale Bergische Kunstausstellung, Kunstmuseum Solingen
2015: The integrated short-short, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2015: Believing History, River runs through it, Kloster Lorsch
2015: General Exposure, Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf
2015: Spring garden in a certain place, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2015: Object Manipulating Economy / Economy Manipulating Object (Installation: Ten thousand leaves and a big fish at the former laundry shop August Fröhls), Mönchengladbach
2014: Erkenntnis, Galerie M29, Köln
2013: VARIANTE FANTASTICO_endloser Heimweg, Nashinamure, Herz Jesu Kirche, Wuppertal
2013: Sportsgeist, Malkasten, Düsseldorf
2013: Project Cicciolino, Kanazawa Bidai Gallery, Kanazawa
2013: Project Cicciolino, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2012: Dokumentation, MEM, Wuppertal
2012: Kunstpunkte Düsseldorf, Kunst im Hafen e.v., Düsseldorf
2011: Kunstpunkte Düsseldorf, Kunst im Hafen e.v., Düsseldorf
2011: MAULWURFTREMOR, Villa Karl Marx, Viersen
2011: Tops, Sammlung Philara, Düsseldorf
2011: Legend of the Artist, contribution to class exhibition, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2010: I will be a big star!, contribution to group exhibition at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2009: I wanna be a big star!, contribution to group exhibition at Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Japan