visitBerlin co-operates with Art Week Tokyo
- Berlin's cultural scene visits the Japanese capital
- 42 Art Week Tokyo shuttle buses become travelling galleries
- The occasion is the 30th anniversary of the Berlin-Tokyo city partnership
Berlin, 6 November 2024 Among all the things that connect Berlin and Tokyo is their reputation as globally significant cultural metropolises. This year, the two capitals are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their twinning. This includes a special kind of exhibition as part of Art Week Tokyo.
Buses become travelling exhibition spaces
53 galleries, museums and venues throughout the city are taking part in Art Week Tokyo. To make it as easy as possible for everyone interested in art to visit, 42 buses will be travelling between all the venues on six different routes every 15 minutes. And thanks to the collaboration between visitBerlin and Art Week Tokyo, the buses are not just mere means of transport. They become exhibition spaces on wheels, with works by artists from Berlin and Tokyo exhibited on board. These include, for example, Andreas Mühe's plush bunker, Malte Bartsch's interactive time machine, Lucia Kempke's delicate paper reliefs made from stone paper and Mai Ueda's practice of the cheerful tea ceremony. In the thirtieth year of their city partnership, Berlin and Tokyo are also demonstrating their connection in the field of art in this unconventional way.
Broad programme of exhibitions, talks and culinary delights
Art Week Tokyo takes place this year from 7 to 10 November. 53 galleries, museums and venues will be showing works by contemporary artists. Symposia, lectures and talks are also on the programme. And there is even culinary art for all the senses in the AWT Bar. The architecture is modelled on nature, without furniture or walls. When it comes to the food, the motto is ‘eat with your eyes’, and the cocktails were created by artists.
City partnership in numerous areas
The partnership between Berlin and Tokyo was established in May 1994. This was followed in 2014 by a cooperation agreement focussing on urban development, the environment and culture. There is cooperation in the field of sport, including youth football and judo. Theatre performances and concerts in the respective partner city are examples of cultural exchange. In the field of science, the three major Berlin universities (FU, TU and HU) and the Charité have been cooperating with universities in Tokyo for more than 20 years. The same applies to non-university institutes such as the Fraunhofer Institute and the German Aerospace Centre, both of which also maintain contact offices in Tokyo.
Participating artists
- With ‘Bunker’,Andreas Mühe transforms historical locations into soft ‘cosy bunkers’ that reflect the harsh past in a touchable way.
- Ayumi Paul combines ‘Forms of Breath’ and breathing exercises in an interactive installation that actively involves the visitors.
- With his ‘mobile flower stand’, Danh Vô is opening a temporary space made for small exchanges and universal gestures.
- With ‘A Stream of Thoughts to Detach Us from the Current’, Lucia Kempkes focuses on the transience of travelling through the use of stone paper and chewing gum and encourages us to take a new look.
- Malte Bartsch invites you to an interactive art moment and awards tickets to visitors as part of his ‘Time Machine™’ campaign.
- With his sound experiment ‘Berlin Recorded Through Silos 9 and 16’, Santiago Sierra creates an connection and transforms the ‘silence’ of Berlin into an acoustic experience, recorded in grain silos.
- Curator: Lutz Henke (Director of Culture, visitBerlin)
