"Open Studio 2009-02"
at Tokyo Wonder Site, Aoyama: Creator in residence
in the Omotesando, Aoyama area
This event has ended - (2009-05-16)
2 people bookmarked this.
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2009
at Laforet Museum Harajuku
in the Omotesando, Aoyama area
This event has ended - (2009-06-10 - 2009-06-14)
8 people bookmarked this.
1 person recommend this.
Recession blues…or is it?
Still very mixed signals coming from the art world on this topic. The Picasso paintings from last week, as reported on TABlog, sold one day later at rival Christie’s auction (as seen in the NY Times). Further, Sotheby’s and Christie’s both had fair sales this week for their contemporary art work auctions. Though much lower than last year, neither auction was a total disaster and it has been painted in optimistic tones by some. Art Review’s website and the NY Times had summaries (optimistic and pessimistic respectively) of both auctions.
However, decidedly on the negative side, Bloomberg picked up the story last week of more London and New York galleries dropping like flies. The victims this time include the Albion Gallery and The Approach. However, though we are keen to find out sales figures for the April fairs and auctions, Tokyo is apparently portraying no overt signs of the recession. Quite the opposite, it seems, since another new gallery (albeit rental) is opening in Asakusa in June, as reports Cinra (Japanese).
Today Only!
Today (May 16) Tokyo Wonder Site Aoyama is hosting another of its Open Studio events, where visitors can mingle freely with resident artists from Japan and abroad. It starts at 14:30 and goes on until 18:00.
As previously introduced on TABlog, Aeolian Ride is here in Tokyo today! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for thirty cyclists in funky wind-inflated suits.
Check out
The Short Shorts Film Festival (SSFF) is happening in June at venues around Omotesando, Harajuku, Roppongi and Yokohama. Participating works seem diverse in terms of country and subject matter, and include one made by Sam Taylor-Wood. See the official website for schedules and the line-up.
Junray Dance Chang are at Setagaya Public Theatre this weekend. You have just two more chances to catch the acclaimed dance group perform. See the theatre website (Japanese) for more.
The mega-conference event/industry known as TED is coming to Tokyo. TEDxTokyo, an independently organized, TED-affiliated event is taking place on May 22. Speakers include Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein. Go to the flashy official website for information on schedules (but there appears to be no details on ticketing).
And finally…
The Japanese-French campaign has been in the upping for a while now but the nomination of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo as a future UNESCO World Heritage Site has suffered a setback this week, as seen in the Mainichi Daily News. A panel from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has recommended that UNESCO do not register the building as a World Heritage Site. The Museum, designed by Le Corbusier, is one of many in Ueno Park and the site of regularly popular exhibitions. If UNESCO agree with ICOMOS’s recommendations in late June then the Museum would have to wait until 2011 to apply again. But what do readers think? Is this building worthy of the UNESCO World Heritage label?
Make Believe
2009-05-19
I would kill to be on that bike ride in Brooklyn and kill to see what is happening in Tokyo right now. Wont be back there until late August though.