On October 18, the Mori Art Museum celebrates the 10th anniversary of its opening.
Established in 2003 to serve as the symbol of Roppongi Hills, the "cultural heart" of Tokyo, the Mori Art Museum was opened on the 53rd ｆloor, the top floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, with the aim of becoming an international contemporary art museum and making contemporary art more accessible through our motto of "Art + Life."
Over the past 10 years, the museum has worked towards achieving this aim through a variety of different initiatives.
"Roppongi Crossing 2013: OUT OF DOUBT" Installation view
Photo: Watanabe Osamu
Original exhibitions
- 40 exhibitions of the museum's own presented, 6 of which have toured internationally
As a museum that has no permanent collection, the Mori Art Museum has throughout the past 10 years staged a range of originally-curated exhibitions of an "international" and "contemporary" nature from its own unique perspective. The contents of these exhibitions are diverse: "Roppongi Crossing" series that once every 3 years presents the latest trends in the Japanese art scene; large-scale solo exhibitions showcasing the art of seminal Japanese and international artists -- the likes of Kusama Yayoi, Ai Weiwei, and Aida Makoto; theme-based exhibitions such as "Happiness," "Medicine and Art" and "All You Need Is LOVE," of art from old to new and from east and west based upon a specific theme; region-based exhibitions presenting the contemporary art of a specific country or area such as Africa, India or the Arab world; and architecture and fashion exhibitions such as "Le Corbusier: Art and Architecture" and "Metabolism: The City of the Future." The exhibitions staged by the museum over the past 10 years, including "Roppongi Crossing 2013" that is running currently, number as many as 40.
Of the 40, 6 exhibitions have toured internationally. Currently touring are "Ai Weiwei: According to What?" in 5 cities in North America, and "Metabolism - The City of the Future" in Taiwan.
"Metabolism, the City of the Future: Dreams and Visions of Reconstruction in Postwar and Present-Day Japan" Installation view
Photo: Watanabe Osamu
Alongside the main exhibitions, "MAM Project" series of small-scale exhibitions, was established in January 2004 to support talented, young artists around the world. 19 such exhibitions were staged over the course of 10 years, and through the commission of new work, the pillar of the project, gave rise to some outstanding pieces.
"MAM Project 019: Emre Hüner" Installation view
Photo: Morita Kenji
Museum-going on weeknights, bilingual services - a wide variety of initiatives by the Mori Art Museum
The Mori Art Museum has been working on various epoch-making services.
Since it first opened, the museum has been open nights until 10 p.m. (except Tuesdays), making it possible for office workers to visit the museum on weeknights.
Also since its opening, the museum has offered Japanese to English bilingual services: captioning and commentary on the art exhibited in the galleries, audio guides, pamphlets and a bilingual website. Depending on the exhibition, pamphlets and audio guides are produced in individual languages, the aim being to enhance the experience of non-Japanese visitors to the museum.
In addition, museum devised a combined ticket that allows admission to the observatory and to the museum so that visitors unfamiliar with contemporary art would feel more inclined to view the artworks. Therefore, over the last decade, the Mori Art Museum has welcomed more than 12 million visitors from throughout Japan and around the world.
Making the visitor experience even more enjoyable, museum has also adopted the Creative Commons (CC) Licensing system and began allowing visitors to take photographs inside the museum whenever possible.
Moreover, the museum has achieved many activities such as installing the public art and street furniture that is found all around Roppongi Hills, so that passersby have a chance to encounter with art, without having to go to the museum; forming Art Triangle Roppongi (ATRo) together with the National Art Center, Tokyo and the Suntory Museum of Art, to work in tandem in a number of activities and events, which developed the idea of the "Roppongi Art Night," an art event symbolizing Roppongi.
"All You Need Is LOVE: From Chagall to Kusama and Hatsune Miku" Installation view
Jean-Michel Othoniel Kin no Kokoro 2013
Courtesy: Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong and Paris
Location: Mohri Garden, Roppongi Hills
Photo: Kioku Keizo
With the aim of being a museum open to the world even more
With pride in the fact that the Mori Art Museum is open to the world of the future and that it is also an important base for the art scene in Asia, the museum will continue to present cutting-edge art from around the world and from its own unique perspective, and challenge itself to various initiatives that will bring about a society that is artistically and culturally rich, and where art is enjoyed as a part of everyday life.
■Relevant information
Mori Art Museum Exhibition Schedule
http://www.mori.art.museum/eng/exhibition/index.html
About Mori Art Museum
http://www.mori.art.museum/eng/outline/index.html
Mori Art Museum Mission Statement
http://www.mori.art.museum/eng/outline/mission.html
Current Exhibition
・
Mori Art Museum 10th Anniversary Exhibition
Roppongi Crossing 2013: OUT OF DOUBT
September 21, 2013 - January 13, 2014
・MAM Project 019: Emre Hüner
September 21, 2013 - January 13, 2014
