EVENTS

Globalization, transformations in information technology, and changes in artists’ practices are profoundly reshaping the nature of international art exhibitions. Exhibitions and art festivals are no longer confined by time and space; instead, they are becoming seamlessly interconnected across temporal and spatial boundaries. Collaborative practices between artists and curators now extend beyond the exhibition period, continuing even after the official schedule has ended and outside the exhibition venue. This symposium will explore new forms of collaboration among artists, collectives, exhibitions, and art festivals within this evolving context.   Panelists Binna Choi (curator, Hawai’i Triennial 2025; artistic director, Korean Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2026) Maria Svonni (artistic director, Luleåbiennalen and Verdde) Mechu Rapela (curator, Tenthaus Art Collective) Truong Que Chi and Nguyen Phuong Linh (artists; Nhà Sàn Collective) Masato Nakamura (artist; general producer, Tokyo Biennale 2025) Yoshitaka Mōri (sociologist; professor, Graduate School of Global Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts)   Panelists Profile    Binna Choi Binna Choi is a South Korean curator whose practice interconnect art, the curatorial, and the (sovereign) commons based on politics of decolonisation, indigenous practice and epistemology, and institutional change and unlearning, She directed Casco Art Institute: Working for the Commons in the Utrecht, the Netherlands over a decade where she curated projects such as Grand Domestic Revolution (2009–2012 with Maiko Tanaka and Yolande van der Heide), Site for Unlearning (Art Organization) (2014–2018 with Annette Krauss and the evolving Casco Team), Travelling Farm Museum of Forgotten Skills (2018–2022 with The Outsiders), next to a number of commissions and experimental collective works. Together with You Mi, she also maintains a study platform Unmapping Eurasia. Besides, Choi also served as a curator/co/artistic director for art festivals such as the 2025 Hawai‘i Triennial, the 2022 Singapore Biennale, and the 2016 Gwangju Biennale, and curates the Korean Pavilion of the 2026 Venice Biennale.  In the context of pedagogy, she served as the faculty for Dutch Art Institute over a decade and the guest professor for the Gwangju Biennial International Curator Course 2025. Since 2024, Choi also works as the supervisor for Doosan Curator Workshop.   Maria Svonni Maria Svonni is a curator based in Giron, Sápmi. Her work is organized around collaborations, utilizing site-specific methods to promote dialogue and long-term change. She is the artistic director of Luleåbiennalen, Scandinavia’s oldest art biennial, and founder and artistic director of Verdde, a nomadic art institution working for the inclusion of Sámi perspectives. Svonni was part of the team that formulated the artistic program in the winning application for Giron to become European Capital of Culture in 2029 and in 2018 she led the establishment of KiN, the first museum focused on contemporary art in the most northern parts of Sweden.   Mechu Rapela Mechu Rapela is a co-director of the Tenthaus Collective, dedicated to fostering artistic collaboration across cultures. With a Master’s in Art History from the University of Oslo, she is an art historian, producer, and curator with a practice in space making. Currently, she is curating a KORO (Art in Public Space) project in Oslo.   Truong Que Chi and Nguyen Phuong Linh Truong Que Chi (b.1987) and Nguyen Phuong Linh (b.1985) are artists whose long-standing friendship has developed into collaboration. Truong examines contradictions and memory within everyday life through video and installation, while Nguyen poetically explores bodily traces and resilience. Since 2021, they have created works together, bringing poetic tension to space through bodily perceptions. Their practice engages with intergenerational memories of loss and the materiality of women’s bodies. They have exhibited at the Busan Biennale and Asian Art Biennale, and are members of Hanoi’s artist-run space Nhà Sàn Collective.   Masato Nakamura Born in 1963 in Ōdate, Akita, he has led numerous urban and community-based art projects since the 1990s and founded the art collective Command N in 1997. In 2001, Nakamura exhibited at the 49th Venice Biennale (Japan Pavilion). In 2010, he established the public-oriented cultural facility Arts Chiyoda 3331, managing it until 2023. He serves as the overall director of the Tokyo Biennale (2021, 2023) and General Producer (2025). He has published multiple books and received the 2010 Arts Encouragement Prize and the 2018 Architectural Institute of Japan Cultural Award.   Yoshitaka Mōri Sociologist. Born 1963 in Nagasaki. Mōri is a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Global Arts. After graduating from Kyoto University, he worked for an advertisement company, and then earned a Ph.D. at Goldsmiths, University of London. His critical practice takes on themes involving contemporary culture and the organization of urban space, as well as social movements, with particular interest in contemporary art, music, and media. Written works include Sutoriito no shiso (Ideas behind street) (NHK Publishing, Inc.), Culture = Politics – New Cultural-Political Movements in the Age of Globalization (Getsuyosha Limited), and Popular Music and Capitalism (Serica Syobo, Inc.). He also served as editor for After Musicking (Geidai Press).  

Workshops by L PACK. (Susumu Odagiri and Tetsuya Nakajima), biennale artists.   The project “Totes my GOATs” by L PACK. collects tote bags sold at art festivals around the world and sheds light on the relationship between “art festivals (the extraordinary)” and “tote bags (the ordinary)” through their designs and backgrounds. In this workshop, participants will freely combine provided texts to create their own “original art festival,” which will then be printed onto tote bags using silk-screen printing. From designs that feel like they could actually exist to unique and unconventional creations, let’s collaborate to make a one-of-a-kind original art festival tote bag together.   Notes We will prepare the tote bag body. Additional printing on brought-in materials is also possible.

Workshops by Eiji Watanabe, a biennale artist.   Creating a Special Walking Stick to Enrich Your Daily Strolls Participants will craft a unique walking stick by attaching a ceramic horse head to the tip of a bamboo staff. Walking with your own hand-painted horse will give you the feeling of being guided one step further into the future.   Workshop Process Using special ceramic markers, participants freely decorate a pre-prepared white porcelain horse head. After painting, the horse head is baked in a household toaster oven for about 15 minutes to set the colors The finished horse head is then attached to the tip of the bamboo staff, and reins are fixed to serve as the handle—completing the walking stick. With your completed staff in hand, your daily walks will become an even richer and more delightful experience.   Notes Children under elementary school age must be accompanied by a guardian. If a typhoon is approaching or rainfall of more than 30mm per hour is forecast on the day of the event, we will inform you of the decision to hold or cancel the event by the day before.

A workshop by Nalaka Wijewardhane, a biennale artist.   Wijewardhane, inspired by Quentin Meillassoux’s concept of hyper-chaos, has been wandering through the streets of Tokyo, capturing the unimaginable with his camera. In this workshop, participants will join a silent walk through the city, sensing a “space of contemplation” shaped by contingency, absence, and non-human presences. By rethinking everyday spaces, sounds, and objects as independent existences beyond human centrality, participants will share in the experience of a dérive—a wandering in which the city subtly engages the body and guides perception. This is a rare opportunity to attentively engage with the faint uncertainties embedded in everyday life and to perceive the city of Tokyo from entirely new angles. Listen to the subtle voices and traces of the urban environment, and allow your body to experience the city in ways that go beyond ordinary observation. We warmly invite you to join this unique exploration.   Workshop Flow Introduction: The artist presents the work and introduces the approach to the walk Silent Walk: Participants drift through the city, opening their senses and engaging with the environment Reflection: Participants share impressions and insights from the experience   Notes The workshop will take place rain or shine The walk and workshop will be filmed, and the footage may be shown later in the exhibition space or included in a publication documenting the project. Please be aware that participants may appear in the recorded videos and photographs.

This lecture invites participants to listen to the genius loci—the spirit of place—hidden in Tokyo’s local scenery, engaging in a dialogue with the histories and memories that have been passed down through generations.This lecture also serves as the final session concluding the four-part special lecture series of Sanpo University Special Lecture.   Guest Speaker: Naoki Oshiro (Professor of Cultural Geography, Meiji University Faculty of Letters) Speakers:Shunya Yoshimi (Professor, Faculty of Tourism and Community Development, Kokugakuin University)   *“Machi” (街) is a Japanese term that signifies a bustling area.

Join us on a guided sanpo (stroll) through the neighborhoods of Kanda-Sudacho, Iwamotocho, Higashi-Kanda, and Bakurocho—areas where rare examples of Tokyo’s wooden architecture still remain. This walking tour will take you through the streetscapes of these historic districts, with stops at three wooden buildings that will serve as key venues for Tokyo Biennale 2025. The tour begins with a special talk by architectural historian Terunobu Fujimori, who will introduce the history and significance of Kanban Kenchiku—a unique style of wooden architecture characterized by decorative facades. The sanpo will be led by Masato Nakamura, an artist and General Producer of Tokyo Biennale 2025, who will guide participants through the route and share his perspectives on Tokyo’s urban fabric and the role of wooden architecture within it.

A walk from Nihonbashi to Tsukudajima tracing Tokyo’s waterfront history—both its original landscapes shaped by water and the new scenery emerging today. Guided by Prof. Hidenobu Jinnai, the tour explores remnants of the merchant town, the revitalized Nihonbashi Kabutocho area, the riverside along Kamejimagawa, and traces of the Edo port around Tsukudajima and Okawabata, revealing the dynamic transformations of Tokyo’s waterside through time and space.   Guide (lecturer): Hidenobu Jinnai (Vice President of “Wandering University” / Professor Emeritus, Hosei University / Director, Chuo City Local History Museum) Course: Nihonbashi – Tsukudajima Meeting Point: In front of the Nihonbashi Tourism Information Center (1-1-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku) Dismissal Point: Tsukudajima (subject to change depending on weather or other circumstances)   Notes We recommend installing the Oedo Map app, “大江戸今昔めぐり,” beforehand and using it on-site (Japanese only). Participants gather and disperse on-site. Travel and accommodation are each participant’s responsibility.

Experience the city as a gallery on this special art sanpo with Masato Nakamura, artist and General Producer of the biennale!   The Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho area has been a business hub driving the Japanese economy since the modern era. In recent years, it has also gained a reputation as a fun and exciting place to visit on your days off. Perhaps you’ve heard that its streets are lined with popular shops and restaurants—or that it’s one of Tokyo’s top destinations for art?   We’ll start with a live painting on a wall at Otemachi First Square, then stroll down Marunouchi Naka-dori to see remarkable public art and pieces from the Tokyo Biennale. Our sanpo ends at the Gyoko-dori Underground Gallery.

A workshop and project with the artists Ebba Moi and Anna Carin Hedberg. It blends poetry, nature, and community, by talking and looking at migratory birds flying between Asia and Scandinavia. At Ebihara Shōten, the artists lead a participatory workshop where people create clay birds while conversing about their own lives and situations. Exploring themes such as migration and community, the traces left from the workshop — clay birds and prints — will remain in the space as “landed birds.” The hands-on process fosters creativity, reflection, and learning while connecting to both local nature and global themes.       Artists Anna Carin Hedberg (1966) and Ebba Moi (1971) are based in Oslo, Norway. They both trained at Trondheim Academy of Fine Art (1995-1999), and have been collaborating since 2003. In their works, they explore the concept of changes and investigate structures that address processes of change in society. Ebba Moi is also a member at Tenthaus art collective working mainly within socially engaged art as an artist and curator in various self-initiated projects and collaborations. Anna Carin Hedberg also works with practice-based art mediation and research at the Norwegian National Museum in Oslo. https://hedbergmoi.net/