Mori Art Museum is taking the occasion of renovation work (January 5, 2014 - April 24, 2015) to develop three new small programs - "MAM Collection," "MAM Screen" and "MAM Research."
In the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, we hope you will continue to support the Mori Art Museum reopening on April 25, 2014, as we transition to a new stage in our history as a contemporary art museum that is open to the world, and as an important hub institution for contemporary art in Asia.
Sequentially Introducing the Collection by the Museum at the Gallery of Its Own
"MAM Collection"
Since the summer of 2005, Mori Art Museum has been building up its collection with an emphasis on new works commissioned for its exhibitions. This collection, which focuses on contemporary art from Japan and elsewhere in Asia, currently comprises 286 works. Collecting and presenting artworks to the public is one of the fundamental activities of any art museums, and with the "MAM Collection" gallery of its own, we will be able to sequentially introduce the Collection. Also, by enabling the museum's curators to select artworks in accordance with set themes and exhibit them in a living space-like environment, such "MAM Collection" exhibitions will help realize the Mori Art Museum's motto of "Art + Life."
Revived As a Stand-Alone, Video-Screening Program
"MAM Screen"
"MAM Screen" launched at the time of Mori Art Museum's opening and ran until February 2013, each month presenting video works related to exhibitions at Mori Art Museum on several giant screens, PDP monitors, et al., throughout Roppongi Hills. Taking advantage of the improved video screening and lecture facilities that are being installed during the renovation work, "MAM Screen" is being revived as a stand-alone program offering screenings of single-screen video works. As well as enabling the museum's curators to put together video programs in accordance with set themes, the new facilities will provide an environment in which visitors can view at leisure not only full-length films and videos that they rarely get to see in their entirety at exhibitions, but also video works that the museum has collected and the video artworks that form part of the increasingly diverse contemporary expressions, ensuring a more satisfying theatrical experience.
Research Processes of Exhibitions Showcased As an Independent Program
"MAM Research"
Japanese and Asian contemporary art is one of the main focuses of the Mori Art Museum's programs, yet "Asia" covers a broad territory, making it difficult to grasp an overall picture of it. In recent years, progress has been made on historical and comparative research into modern art in the Asia region which has developed in various ways. In light of this situation, the newly established "MAM Research" program will seek to shed light on the historical, political and cultural contexts that underpin Asian contemporary art today by focusing on individual artists, curators, art movements and art institutions throughout Asia and gathering together these various "fragments" that make up Asia. "MAM Research" is premised on collaborative projects with archives, research bodies and researchers around Asia, and it is anticipated that Mori Art Museum will serve as a platform for a wide variety of discussions. As well, by not limiting the actual displays to "artworks" but also incorporating such materials as photographs, texts and historical records, it is hoped that visitors will get a more real sense of the historical and cultural background to the artworks.
Although it is likely that some of this research will be reflected in major exhibitions in the future, for the time being the focus of the project will be to accumulate and share with visitors a range of knowledge and varied points of view relating to Asia.
"MAM Research" will be held alternately in the same space as "MAM Projects," which is aimed at supporting the activities of promising young artists from around the world.
■Relevant information
・NEWS: Mori Art Museum, Reopening in Spring 2015
(1) Exhibitions "Simple Shapes" & "Dinh Q. Lê" are to be held in 2015
(2) New Programs "MAM Collection," "MAM Screen," "MAM Research"
・Notice Regarding Temporary Closure during Renovation Work
http://www.mori.art.museum/eng/info/access.html#a05
http://www.mori.art.museum/blog/2014/03/post-235.php
