The Mori Art Museum is pleased to present the “Pop-up Mathaf at Mori Art Museum,” a weekend of talks collectively titled: Same-Same But Different: The Role of the Artist in the Arab World and Japan on September 28, Friday and 29, Saturday, 2012. This collaboration with Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar is part of the series of events organized by the Qatar Museums Authority to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Japan in 2012.

Organized as a trio of conversations between Arab and Japanese contemporary artists and a round table discussion, Same-Same But Different is designed to challenge preconceptions and stereotypes, and to encourage artists to discuss how their work relates to their respective cultural contexts. Japan and the Arab world are usually regarded as having very little in common. However, artists in both places are now grappling with the aftermath of recent social upheaval and dynamic changes and this event will explore unexpected commonalities between Japanese and Arab artists. The program is also a response to the prevalence and usage of cultural clichés and Western stereotypes in discussions about Japanese and Arab contemporary art.

All the talks focus on a central question: what does where you are from have to do with the personal experience of making art? With this innovative and unprecedented cross-cultural inquiry, we hope to reduce the psychological distance between the cultures and to invite audiences to question their assumptions.