Mori Art Museum

Mori Art Museum
Name	Mori Art Museum
Native name	森美術館
Established	2003
Location	Roppongi Hills, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Type	Contemporary art museum
Director	Daisuke Miyatsu
Website	Mori Art Museum

Mori Art Museum is a contemporary art museum located in Roppongi Hills, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 2003 by the Mori Building Company and opened to coincide with the completion of the Roppongi Hills complex, the museum focuses on contemporary art from Japan, Asia, and the global arena. It has become a prominent venue for large-scale exhibitions, cross-disciplinary projects, and site-specific commissions, attracting international artists, curators, and visitors.

History

The museum was initiated by the Mori Building Company as part of the Roppongi Hills urban redevelopment project overseen by developer Minoru Mori, with design collaborations involving architects from the office of Kohn Pedersen Fox and prominent architects like Fumihiko Maki. Early leadership featured curators and directors who previously worked with institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Tate Modern, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Centre Pompidou, creating networks with artists linked to the Venice Biennale, Documenta, the São Paulo Biennial, and the Whitney Biennial. Major early exhibitions included loans and commissions from collections such as the Musée d'Orsay, the Museum of Modern Art, the British Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and private collectors associated with the Guggenheim Foundation and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Over time the museum established partnerships with festivals and events including the Aichi Triennale, Yokohama Triennale, and the Setouchi Triennale, while engaging curators who had affiliations with institutions like the Walker Art Center, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Mori Art Museum Alumni network.

Architecture and Facilities

The museum occupies top floors of the Mori Tower, a skyscraper designed as part of the Roppongi Hills masterplan by architects affiliated with Kohn Pedersen Fox and Fumihiko Maki. Galleries are arranged to accommodate large-scale installations, video works, and performance spaces with technical systems comparable to those at the Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern's Turbine Hall, and the Dia Art Foundation. Facilities include climate-controlled storage modeled on standards used by the National Gallery, conservation labs influenced by practices at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a library and archive that collaborates with institutions such as the Japan Art Association, the British Library, and the Getty Research Institute. Public areas include an observation deck with views referenced alongside Tokyo Skytree and Tokyo Tower panoramas, a museum shop featuring designer collaborations, and multipurpose spaces for symposiums, film screenings, and artist talks that mirror programming formats used by the Smithsonian Institution and the Asia Society.

Collections and Exhibitions

While primarily exhibition-based rather than encyclopedic, the museum has built a program of permanent installations, acquired works, and long-term loans from artists associated with the YBA movement, the Gutai group, Mono-ha, and contemporary artists who have shown at the Venice Biennale, Documenta, and the Carnegie International. Exhibition history includes solo presentations and thematic shows featuring artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, Lee Ufan, Ai Weiwei, Yoko Ono, Tatsuo Miyajima, and Anish Kapoor, alongside curatorial projects linked to names like Hans Ulrich Obrist, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, and Okwui Enwezor. Themed exhibitions have addressed urbanism, globalization, and identity, drawing comparative references to shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Serpentine Galleries. The museum also stages the annual Roppongi Crossing survey exhibition that highlights emergent artists with trajectories comparable to those launched at institutions such as the Hammer Museum, Tate Britain, and Kunsthalle venues in Europe.

Programs and Education

Education and public programs include guided tours, artist talks, workshops, and residency initiatives that connect with academic partners such as the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, Keio University, and international programs at Columbia University and Goldsmiths, University of London. The museum runs outreach projects that engage schools, community centers, and cultural organizations including the Japan Foundation, the British Council, and the Goethe-Institut. Internship and curator-in-residence programs have hosted participants from organizations like the Asia Art Archive, the Getty Foundation, and the Nordic Council of Ministers. Film series, symposiums, and publications are produced in collaboration with publishers and media outlets such as Phaidon, Afterall, Artforum, and ARTnews, while conservation and cataloging efforts follow guidelines from ICOM and the International Council on Archives.

Governance and Funding

Governance is overseen by a board tied to the Mori Building Company with advisory input from an international committee comprised of curators, collectors, and museum directors affiliated with institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, the British Museum, the Louvre, and the National Museum of Korea. Funding sources include corporate sponsorship from Mori Building, ticket sales, public grants coordinated with the Agency for Cultural Affairs, private donations from collectors and foundations such as the Nippon Foundation and Suntory Foundation, and partnerships with galleries and auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's for special projects. Philanthropic initiatives and annual memberships mirror development models used by museums such as the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Visitor Information

Located in Roppongi Hills, the museum is accessible from Roppongi Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line and the Toei Oedo Line, and is within walking distance of Azabu-juban and Hiroo stations. Typical visitor services include timed-entry tickets, multilingual audio guides in languages including English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, an on-site museum shop, and a café with views of Tokyo similar to offerings at the Tokyo National Museum and the National Art Center, Tokyo. Opening hours, admission fees, and special exhibition schedules are announced seasonally and advertised through cultural calendars maintained by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, travel guides such as Lonely Planet and Michelin, and event listings for arts weeks and gallery nights.

Category:Contemporary art museums in Japan