What Has Art Week Tokyo Brought to the City? Changes in Its Fifth Year and Challenges Beyond Internationalization
Art Week Tokyo returns for its fifth year, decentralizing AWT FOCUS with ten curators across the city and exploring new challenges of internationalization.Summary
Art Week Tokyo (AWT) ran from November 4 to 8, with a record 56 museums and galleries participating. The biggest change in its fifth year is the overhaul of AWT FOCUS, its self-curated program. Launched in 2023 as a "selling exhibition," AWT FOCUS had previously featured a single curator organizing an exhibition at one venue. This year, in collaboration with the Vienna gallery festival "curated by," the program shifted to a decentralized format in which ten curators from Japan and abroad each organize exhibitions at ten galleries and art spaces across Tokyo. AWT Director Atsuko Ninagawa says AWT's role is to connect the rich activities of Japan's art scene from "points" into "lines" and build the infrastructure for that. After three editions curated by Kenjiro Hosaka, Mami Kataoka, and Adam Szymczyk, the program was ready to hand agency to participants. The new format includes exhibitions such as Natsumi Aoyagi curated by Shin Jaemin at MISA SHIN GALLERY, Koji Kakihata curated by Maria Brewinska at Take Ninagawa, Mary Weatherford's first Japan solo show curated by Jeremy Strick at Shibunkaku Ginza, and Julianknxx's first Japan solo show curated by Ekow Eshun at space Un. Hisao Nakatani of space Un says collaborating with overseas curators through AWT FOCUS positions the gallery in an international context and demonstrates long-term relationships beyond commercial transactions.
(Source：美術手帖)