The fifth edition of Art Week Tokyo (AWT), which took place 5-9 November, brought the city’s commercial galleries and museums to the fore, highlighting Japan’s art scene against a backdrop of shifting national politics.
Last month Sanae Takaichi, the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was elected as Japan’s prime minister, making her the first woman to hold the office. This change of leadership was met with a mixed response by the Japanese art world, with some highlighting that tax incentives, international promotion programmes, an improved cultural sector infrastructure and stronger public collections will be needed to give artists, collectors, and galleries a sense of encouragement.
The art market in Japan collapsed in 1990 after collectors invested heavily in Modern and Impressionist art. Other international centres and markets such as Hong Kong and New York subsequently accelerated as Japan’s economy floundered. Since then, the country has remained what The Art Newspaper’s editor-at-large Georgina Adam has referred to as the “sleeping beauty” of the art world.
A hybrid post-art fair model
However, at Art Week Tokyo, which has positioned itself as a “post-art fair” model, the mood seemed buoyant. With more than 50 institutions taking part across Tokyo, covering areas such as Roppongi and Marunouchi, VIPs and the public alike hopped back and forth across the metropolis, visiting small commercial galleries and established art institutions via free shuttle buses.
The director and co-founder of the annual showcase, Atsuko Ninagawa, says that the week is intended to activate the market in Tokyo, while still promoting a genuine art-focused, non-profit ethos. “The vision has always been the same. I built [AWT] as a hybrid platform to connect institutions, galleries, and diverse audiences,” she explains.
“AWT is not just a market platform. We’d love to have more art professionals from outside Japan attend as much as we’d like to see more collectors from the region, such as those from Greater China.”
Though not solely a market platform, AWT is organised in collaboration with Art Basel, with funding provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. The partnership with the mega-fair brand is mutually beneficial, enabling both parties to share VIP contacts and expertise, and allowing the fair to tap into a pool of burgeoning Japanese collectors.
“The collaboration with Art Basel developed organically from conversations about how they could contribute to the growth of the regional art scene, and our relationship has been defined by mutual respect and exchange,” Ninagawa explains. “I think they understand that a strong art scene in Tokyo benefits the whole region.”
With this in mind, and as Ninagawa has pointed out, AWT’s focus goes beyond the commercial, also hosting museum shows under its umbrella. The centrepiece exhibition, What is Real? at the Okura Museum of Art, is this year’s AWT Focus event. Curated by Adam Szymczyk, the artistic director of Documenta 14 (2017), the show includes more than 100 works available for sale by over 50 artists, who ruminate on the notion of reality in art in the age of artificial intelligence.
Tsubaki Noboru’s Esthetic Pollution, 1990, is on show at the the National Art Center, Tokyo, as part of Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010
© Tsubaki Noboru. Photo SAIKI Taku, Courtesy of 21st Century Museumof Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Another museum show, Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010 at the National Art Center, Tokyo, is a “must-see”, according to the director of the Mori Art Museum, Mami Kataoka. Caroline Ferreira, a former curator at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, as well as many AWT guests, appear to share this opinion.
Ferreira says: “The show, co-produced with M+ Museum in Hong Kong, was excellent, giving visitors a good overview of the Japanese art scene at the end of the 1990s…I also really enjoyed discovering that so many important artists from the US came to Japan at one point for residencies such as Joan Jonas, Sharon Lockhart and David Hammons.”
Local scene, global context
Participating galleries, who do not pay a fee to take part in AWT, have similarly positive things to say about the event. “Rather than confining itself to a single venue or fair, AWT allows visitors to experience Tokyo’s diverse art scenes firsthand, from independent galleries to institutional spaces,” says Seiko Mbako, a spokesperson for SpaceUn, which is showing a series of works by African diaspora artists with price points ranging from ¥147,000 ($954) to ¥14.3m ($92,400).
Akiko Horiuchi of Gallery38, which presents a solo exhibition by the ceramicist Eiji Uematsu (Where the sprouts come from, until 14 December), is similarly upbeat, describing the event’s international reach as “extremely valuable”. However, she is not without concern, adding: “For a small gallery like ours, participating in overseas art fairs can be quite challenging, both financially and logistically…The response to the exhibition has been very positive so far, although sales are another story.”
On a macro level, however, the outlook for the Japanese art market is positive. According to a recent report, it grew by 11% to an estimated $681m between 2019 to 2023, while the worldwide market saw just 1% growth during the same period.
Shinji Nanzuka, the founder of Nanzuka gallery, however, still favours an international outlook. “AWT allows Tokyo to be seen not merely as a local scene, but within a global context,” says the gallerist, who is showing the Abaco series by the Japanese sculptor Haroshi, priced between $3,000 and $25,000.
“My gallery has long worked with artists emerging from street culture and illustration. I see AWT as an essential platform where such boundary-crossing practices can connect with the wider international art world.”
He also believes that the cooling of an overheated market has its benefits—namely a renewed focus on core artistic values. “We’re seeing more collectors who focus on these fundamentals, and a younger generation of artists who are building their practices with a grounded, long-term perspective,” he explains. “In other words, this is a moment when market normalisation and generational renewal are happening simultaneously.”
On the topic of Japan’s political future, however, there is less certainty among gallerists. “It’s still too early to know anything,” says Gallery38’s Horiuchi. “There hasn’t been much mention of cultural policy yet. I can only hope that Takaichi will take an interest in supporting and promoting art culture in Japan.”
AloJapan.com