Anarchism: My Friend, Under the Oak Tree is Pleasant @ Institut Français de Tokyo
The exhibition 'Anarchism' at Institut Français de Tokyo reexamines the ideology through contemporary art, critiquing power structures and advocating for self-organization.Summary
Institut Français de Tokyo is hosting the exhibition 'Anarchism: My Friend, Under the Oak Tree is Pleasant' as part of the 12th 'Philosophy Night' on May 30, 2026. The exhibition reinterprets anarchism not merely as a symbol of disorder or rebellion, but as a critique of power structures such as the nation-state, capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy. It presents art as a medium for liberation, self-organization, and political experimentation, focusing on the specific experiences of domination, labor, and collective struggle. Participating artists explore the relationship between power and ownership, the disconnection of material metabolism, invisible coercion, the memory of the proletariat, and the possibilities of non-hierarchical collective organization. The exhibition aims to resist the capitalist logic of predation, accumulation, and value enhancement, reclaiming surplus value from the proletariat and anarchist artists. Participating artists include KAWAGUCHI Reo, KOMIYA Risamarina, Ali Tsukubata, the 'Endless Chaos' project team (Sakamoto Natsumi, Florence Dowie, YAZAKI Haruka, Maibon Naoko), the art unit 'superString', Tanaka Eifumi Yoshiyuki, and the academic project 'ARCHIVE'.
(Source：ART iT)