The Mori Art Museum Reopens Today After Four Months of Upgrades

The Mori Art Museum is to reopen today, April 25, 2015, following an extensive upgrade taking around four months.

In the eleven-and-a-half years since the Museum first opened in October 2003, a tide of globalization has swept through not only the worlds of business and politics, but the cultural sphere as well, art in particular. Looking around Asia we find booming contemporary art markets in Hong Kong and Singapore, and Asian art also a major presence at international auctions and art fairs. This October will see the opening of a massive national art museum in Singapore, while in Hong Kong a large-scale contemporary art museum will make its appearance in 2018.

As the globalization of contemporary art thus becomes increasingly diverse and complex in character, many contemporary art museums are facing the new challenges of how best to understand a variety of art from all around the world, place that art in its historical context, and introduce it to the wider public.

In light of all these, on celebrating our first decade in October 2013 we revised the Museum's mission and vision in an attempt to clarify our own role and direction as part of the Japanese, Asian, and global art scenes.

To implement this new mission and vision, in this latest upgrade we have added hi-tech features to the exhibition spaces allowing us to cater flexibly to the growing diversity of contemporary artistic expression. In addition, as well as launching three new smaller programs, we will continue to create settings for visitors to experience contemporary art on a deeper level and from multiple angles, via a range of initiatives that include

overseeing the selection and the installation of contemporary artworks in the Museum Cafe? & Restaurant. The aim is to offer a new model for art museums in today's world, from our own perspective, contributing to the realization of a more creative, more innovative approach to "Art + Life" in the spirit of our founder Mori Minoru, who aspired to build a Museum that would "be unique, be different from others, and keep challenging new things."
Nanjo Fumio, Director, Mori Art Museum

MISSION AND VISION OF THE MORI ART MUSEUM MISSION

In today's increasingly interconnected world, we have the opportunity to be enriched by global currents of history and culture and to enjoy diverse lifestyles as a result of active contact with different peoples and ideas. The role of art in this environment is decisive, providing vital sources of inspiration for creativity and innovation.

The Mori Art Museum has developed its own distinctive approach to art activities, embracing the concepts of "contemporary" and "international" since its establishment. The Museum is committed to presenting a wide range of exhibitions and public programs that feature cutting-edge visual arts, architecture, and design in a global perspective.

The Mori Art Museum is positioned also as a center of contemporary Japanese and Asian art, able to present Asian art trends in a global context with profound expertise concerning specific cultural systems and structures.

The intention of the Mori Art Museum's continuing "Art + Life" principle is to realize an enriched society where art relates to all aspects of life.

VISION

-To present creative endeavors in art, architecture, design and other artistic activities within the broader contexts of culture, history, philosophy and science, and to be a center of inspiration accessible to all.

-To cultivate broad community development through collaboration in exhibition planning, creation of touring exhibitions, and exchanges with art museums and cultural institutions, artists, curators, collectors and supporters world-wide.

- To provide a platform through art for people of all walks of life to engage in critical and constructive discourse towards creating a new aesthetic and a new world view.

-To contribute to the development of contemporary art through artwork production support, exhibitions, collection of Asian contemporary art, and cooperative relationships with galleries, art fairs and professionals in the world of art.

-To introduce new lifestyles from the cultural hub of Tokyo to the world, uniting art and life through dedicated public programs, as well as promotion of community art events and active support of public art projects.

ABOUT THE MORI ART MUSEUM
As a Symbol of "Cultural Heart of the City"

In October 2003, Mori Art Museum opened with the aim of becoming a contemporary art museum of international importance, symbolic of the status of Roppongi Hills as "Cultural Heart of the City." Grounded in founder Mori Minoru's intense belief that "culture shapes a city's identity," the Museum opened on the very top floor of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower ? a visually symbolic location as well ? in an innovative leap of faith amid widespread doubt at the time that people would actually come to a place devoted to contemporary art. Contemporary art most faithfully mirrors the era in which we live, offers the hidden prospect of unknown realms and unlimited possibilities, and is open to the future. As such, it chimes with what Roppongi Hills aspires to be: a place that engages with the zeitgeist, and draws in people from across the globe via the magnetic allure of culture. Eleven and a half years on, the Mori Art Museum has succeeded beyond all imagination and expectations, to date attracting 13.5 million visitors from around the world, and developing into one of Japan's foremost contemporary art museums.

Becoming an Art Museum of Global Standing and Standards

Mori Art Museum since its inception has always been mindful of achieving global standards in its organization and operation. This includes appointing a non-Japanese Director from outside the country as its first Director - unprecedented in Japan - and in setting up International Advisory Committee (1999- ) including some of the world's most renowned museum directors as advisors.

"Bilingual Services" Used by about 15% of the Museum Visitors
Since its opening the Museum has offered Japanese/English bilingual services: all signage, captioning and commentary on the works exhibited in the galleries, audio guides, pamphlets, and a bilingual website. The Museum' s website has also been produced in Chinese and Korean since 2008. Depending on the exhibition, pamphlets and audio guides are produced in individual languages, the aim being to enhance the experience of non-Japanese visitors to the Museum. Approximately 15% of visitors to the Museum have been using these foreign language services.

Museum's Own, Originally-Curated Exhibitions - 43 to Date, 7 of Which Have Toured Internationally Mori Art Museum has staged a range of originally-curated exhibitions of an "international" and "contemporary" nature from its own unique perspective by utilizing its global network. The content of these exhibitions is diverse: "Roppongi Crossing" series that once every three years presents the latest trends in the Japanese art scene; large-scale solo exhibitions showcasing the artistic practices of seminal Japanese and international artists; theme-based exhibitions of art from old to new and from east to west, based upon a specific subject; region-based exhibitions presenting the contemporary art of a specific country or area; and architecture and fashion exhibitions. Of the 43 exhibitions staged to date, 7 have toured internationally.

Photo Courtesy of the Mori Art Museum