Art Week of Tokyo - Citywide initiative showcases Tokyo’s leading art spaces
Art Week Tokyo is inaugurating an expanded edition this November in collaboration with Art Basel. Organized by Japan Contemporary Art Platform with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Art Week Tokyo Mobile Project Organizing Committee, with support from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, Art Week Tokyo is scheduled for November 3–6, 2022, with VIP events starting on November 1.
After holding a successful soft-launch edition that welcomed more than 20,000 visitors across 50 participating spaces in 2021, Art Week Tokyo is inaugurating an expanded edition this November in collaboration with Art Basel. Organized by Japan Contemporary Art Platform with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Art Week Tokyo Mobile Project Organizing Committee, with support from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, Art Week Tokyo is scheduled for November 3–6, 2022, with VIP events starting on November 1.
This year’s edition of Art Week Tokyo will feature an expanded line-up of participants and events, offering four days of coordinated programming across 52 of Tokyo’s leading museums, galleries, and alternative spaces. In addition, Art Week Tokyo will feature a wider range of VIP events and programs as well as a new, free mobile app with custom maps and real-time updates. All participating venues will once again be connected via a complimentary bus service. As Tokyo’s most ambitious citywide initiative for contemporary art to date, Art Week Tokyo will make one of the world’s most exciting and dynamic art scenes more accessible than ever before.
Atsuko Ninagawa, Cofounder and Director of Art Week Tokyo and Owner and Director of Take Ninagawa, said:
“Art Week Tokyo is a celebration of the diversity, resilience, and conviviality of Tokyo’s art scene. The enthusiastic response from participating venues and the tremendous support we have received from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Agency for Cultural Affairs reflects a commitment across all levels of the art community to come together to grow our art ecosystem and enhance its accessibility to broad audiences for contemporary art. The organizational expertise of the Art Basel team has been invaluable in helping us produce an event that will make Tokyo one of the leading destinations for contemporary art in Asia and beyond.”
Photo by Katsuhiro Saiki
About Atsuko Ninagawa
Atsuko Ninagawa is the owner and director of the gallery Take Ninagawa, Tokyo, and the co-founder and director of Art Week Tokyo. Established in 2008, Take Ninagawa is dedicated to promoting emerging and historically significant Japanese artists in a cross-generational, international framework, and to organizing projects with international artists that respond to the Japanese context. Atsuko Ninagawa is on the selection committee of Art Basel Hong Kong and is one of the collaborators behind South South, a new platform for art from the Global South that launched in February 2021.
Adeline Ooi, Director Asia of Art Basel, said:
“We are delighted to renew our collaboration with Art Week Tokyo for this citywide celebration of Tokyo’s thriving arts and cultural scene. Extending our support of this initiative is a natural next step aligned with our deep appreciation for Tokyo’s art and gallery community, and our long-term commitment to strengthening the flourishing art ecosystems across Asia."
A website with full details about participating venues and programs will launch in September 2022.
For the latest updates, follow Art Week Tokyo on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Light of hope - Tokyo Michiterasu 2020 winter illumination
This unique light and illumination event has become the area's winter tradition since Tokyo Millenario was first held in 1999. This year, Tokyo Michiterasu 2020 is still hosting during the global pandemic, hoping to light the way of all of us to the future: Michi (unknown) and terasu (light). This event hopes to deliver a message of support and thanks to the people working towards the new era (the "new normal") from Japan's heart. *fRAum®︎ is the main visual for art calligraphy.
Light of hope, one of the latest projects created by KAZUKI KUMONO & YOKO FRAKTUR This light and illumination event has become the area’s winter tradition. This year, Tokyo Michiterasu 2020, with the wish of lighting the way to the future: Since we may not be able to visit in life but you may also visit online during the pandemic. They hope to deliver a message of support and thanks to the people working towards the new era (the “new normal”) from the heart of Japan. This is one of the winter illuminations that you can enjoy both on-site and remotely.
fRAum®︎ is the main visual for art calligraphy.
You may find there are many different characteristics in the city of Tokyo. Where history, the future and culture meet. Surrounding Tokyo Station, this area continues to emerge as a unique city where history, tradition, culture, science, business, and innovation blend together dynamically and form a hub that connects Tokyo, Japan and the world.
This unique light and illumination event has become the area's winter tradition since Tokyo Millenario was first held in 1999. This year, Tokyo Michiterasu 2020 is still hosting during the global pandemic, hoping to light the way of all of us to the future: Michi (unknown) and terasu (light). This event hopes to deliver a message of support and thanks to the people working towards the new era (the "new normal") from Japan's heart.
For those who can’t visit in person, Tokyo Michiterasu 2020’s official website offers a particular movie. It features five short stories told by art calligraphy animals in Tokyo Station Marunouchi Station Square and on Gyoko-Dori Street. Please enjoy whereby the dark world grows with the light of hope.
Episode 1:
Living is not breathing but doing - Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Episode 2
Because love is, that forgives the conflict of opinion with mistakes and their own that person. - Florence nightingale
Episode 3
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up - Mark Twain
Episode 4
If you fantasize anyway, it’s best to have a wonderful imagination. - Lucy Maud Montgomery
Episode 5
True courage and kindness go on with people together. - Samuel Smiles
The video will be released on December 24, 2020
Event Details
The name of the event: Tokyo Michiterasu 2020
Opening period: Thursday, December 10 - Friday, December 25, 2020, from 3:00 pm ～ 9:00pm
*Some of the online content is scheduled to be available until Thursday, December 31. AR is available both daytime and nighttime at the venue.
The venue: Tokyo Station Marunouchi Station Square, Gyoko-Dori Street
The hosts (in no particular order) East Japan Railway Company Tokyo Branch and Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.
Other sponsors (in no particular order)Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Chiyoda Ward; The Chiyoda City Tourism Association; The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Tokyo International Forum Co., Ltd.; The Council for Area Development and Management of Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho.
For more information, please visit: https://www.tokyo-michiterasu.jp/en/
KUKAN DESIGN AWARD 2020
Established to connect the value of spatial design to the future, the KUKAN DESIGN AWARD is the most esteemed of such awards in Japan. Our society grows increasingly complex, our values are changing, from valuing a wealth of things to respecting wealth in our hearts, and meanwhile, we face many challenges. The mission behind the KUKAN DESIGN AWARD is to excavate the solution to our society’s multi-faceted challenges and breakthrough to a hopeful future.
On November 13, 2020, the Kukan Design Awards ceremony was successfully held at the Tokyo Design Center (Gotanda, Tokyo). Due to the global pandemic, only winners and invited parties were invited to celebrate in the ceremony.
Kukan Design Awards were established to connect with the value of spatial design toward the future. Co-organized by DSA (Japan Design Space Association) and JCD (Japan Commercial Environmental Design Association), it is recognized as the most prestigious spatial design award in Japan.
The winning project "Shibuya Sky" and "Fukadaiji Garden Restaurant Maruta" and "Kumamoto Castle Special Tour Passage" have been awarded as "KUKAN OF THE YEAR 2020", the grand prize of this year.
KUKAN OF THE YEAR 2020
Winning Project: Shibuya Sky
Design by: Tadao Kamei / Takeyuki Katsuya / Shibuya Station Area Development Planning Joint Venture (Nikken Sekkei), Keisuke Arikuni / RHIZOMATIKS
Photographer: SS Tokyo, Kenichi Suzuki, Keita Sinya (ROLLUPstudio.)
Winning Project: JINDAIJI GARDEN Restaurant Maruta
Design by: Shunichi Furuya/ FURUYA DESIGN ARCHITECT OFFICE
Photography: Shinkenchiku-sha
Winning Project: Kumamoto Castle Reconstruction Observation Path
Design by: Yuzuru Tsukagawa + Shun Hori / NIHONSEKKEI
photography: Kenji Masunaga
KUKAN DESIGN TALK
The moderator, Mr. Naoki Iijima (JCD Director), held a discussion session with three champions of KUKAN OF THE YEAR 2020.
GOLD PRIZE / 2020
KATACHI TO KURASHI
Hokuto Fujii / hokkyok Inc.
Wako Main Bldg. / Multiple
Jun Musashi / Wako, Hokuto Ando / we+, Toshiya Hayashi / we+
mother's+
Junichi Yokoo / TAKENAKA CORPORATION
Shibuya PARCO - HULIC building
Yuuji Hamano, Yoshiharu Kabe, Nobuhiko Kakitani / TAKENAKA CORPORATION
The Hotel Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu
Ryu Kosaka / A.N.D., Nomura Co., Ltd
Hiroshi Yoneya, Ken Kimizuka / TONERICO:INC.
“HANEDA SKY CAMPUS” Headquarter of Azusa Sekkei
Kazuyuki Watanabe / Azusa Sekkei
International Dorm-City
Expert Member, Kanagawa University Campus Development Planning CommitteeKukan Design Awards
For more information about KUKAN DESIGN Award, please visit: https://kukan.design/
British Art Installation “Please Be Seated” in Chinese Mainland
Swire Properties kicked off the highly anticipated tour of “Please Be Seated” in the Chinese mainland in collaboration with British design firm Paul Cocksedge Studio. From now till 1 November 2020, the large-scale installation will be open to the public at the Temple Plaza of Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, engaging the community through an interactive art experience.
Crossover collaboration with Paul Cocksedge Studio will present the studio’s first-ever touring public art installation across the Chinese mainland
Swire Properties kicked off the highly anticipated tour of “Please Be Seated” in the Chinese mainland in collaboration with British design firm Paul Cocksedge Studio. From now till 1 November 2020, the large-scale installation will be open to the public at the Temple Plaza of Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, engaging the community through an interactive art experience.
The debut of this significant art piece across its retail projects in the Chinese mainland resonates with Swire Properties’ commitment to offering world-class art and cultural experiences for local communities to enjoy. This is the first international showcase of the giant public art piece since its critically acclaimed debut at the London Design Festival in 2019. Following the Chengdu stop, “Please Be Seated” will travel across the country to Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou, Taikoo Li Qiantan in Shanghai, and Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing, where it will become a permanent installation in the capital city.
"Please Be Seated" was designed by Paul Cocksedge Studio to respond to urban life's dynamic nature, reinvigorating how local audiences interact with space and the community. The 15.2 meter-long installation features' waves' of wood rising up to form arches for people to walk through and curves under to create space for people to sit, lie and relax. Echoing Swire Properties' intense focus on sustainable development, the piece is fabricated from 1,440 planks of sustainably sourced timber.
Please Be Seated is designed by acclaimed British designer Paul Cocksedge. ©MarkCocksedge
“We’re delighted to partner with Paul Cocksedge Studio to bring this ambitious art piece to four of our retail centers in the Chinese mainland,” said Tim Blackburn, Chief Executive Officer, Chinese mainland, Swire Properties. “This installation, which merges innovation, sustainability, and art, is a wonderful showcase of our commitment to creative placemaking in our communities. With this piece, we invite the public to explore and engage with the artwork on their own terms, interacting with it so that they become an integral part of the piece themselves. We feel this sends a powerful message of the personal relationships we form with art and speaks to our vision of curating exceptional art and cultural experiences within our developments.”
“Please Be Seated” was an instinctive response to public space and the rhythm of people moving through it. We are excited to work with Swire Properties again to create a piece of work that engages with the public and puts them at the center of the design,” said Cocksedge. Paul Cocksedge Studio has a longstanding creative partnership with Swire Properties and has created ambitious pieces of work, including “Gust of Wind” at HKRI Taikoo Hui in Shanghai and “Spectrum” the Swire Properties VIP lounge at Art Basel Hong Kong 2019.
About Paul Cocksedge Studio
Paul Cocksedge is an internationally acclaimed British designer, who has spent the last decade building a reputation for innovative design, underpinned by research into the limits of technology and materials. His catalog of work spans design products, architectural projects, installations, and sculptures, all infused with the sense of simplicity, joy, and wonder that has come to characterize his work. In 2018, Cocksedge designed a light installation for COS’s Coal Drops Yard retail space, and in 2019 created a VIP Lounge for Swire Properties at Art Basel Hong Kong. Current projects include the studio’s first bridge, and first project in South Africa, as well as Slump, an exhibition with Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Cocksedge's Here Comes The Sun – a socially distanced picnic blanket - is also featured in V&A Dundee's Now Accepting Contactless show.
Visit the studio's website at www.paulcocksedgestudio.com
About Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu
Located in the city center of Chengdu, Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu is a mixed-use development jointly developed by Swire Properties and Sino-Ocean Group. Opened in 2015, the development comprises an open-plan, low-rise and lane-driven shopping mall, and The Temple House - an understated luxury urban hotel with 100 Rooms and 42 Residences.
About Swire Properties
Swire Properties develops and manages commercial, retail, hotel, and residential properties, with a particular focus on mixed-use developments in prime locations at major mass transportation intersections. Swire Properties is listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and its investment portfolio in Hong Kong comprises Taikoo Place, Cityplaza, and Pacific Place. In addition to Hong Kong, the Company has investments in the Chinese mainland, the United States, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.