PRESS RELEASE
March,2020
Roppongi Art Night Executive Committee

May 30 (Sat) 10:00 – May 31 (Sun) 18:00, 2020
“Roppongi Art Night 2020”: An art festival staged across Roppongi“Magical Adventure : Find Your Art of Wonder in the Town!”
Our main artist will be Takashi Murakami, one of the top names in Japanesecontemporary art! Artists from KaiKai Kiki challenge "Doraemon"!!
Message from the new chair of the Roppongi Art Night Executive Committee
This year, from May 30 (Sat) to 31 (Sun), Tokyo’s Roppongi district will become the stage of “Roppongi Art Night 2020”, a one-night-only art
festival brought to you by the Roppongi Art Night Executive Committee.
This annual event was launched as a means to propose a new lifestyle that allows us to enjoy art as part of our everyday life, and create apioneering model for urban development in a metropolis like Tokyo. First launched in March 2009, it continues to evolve with every installment
as Tokyo’s premier celebration of art.
For “Roppongi Art Night 2020”, we welcome contemporary art superstar Takashi Murakami as our main artist. The main program artist for thisyear is Takashi Murakami, a contemporary artist who represents Japan and is active around the world. This year's Roppongi Art Night will beextravagant.
For this installment’s motif, Murakami has chosen “Doraemon,” the beloved
children’s comic book character that he calls the “biggest Japanese pop icon of
the 20th century.” In recent years, the artist has produced a series of works
involving the character, a “collaboration” with the late Fujiko F. Fujio, the creatorof Doraemon. Murakami will be making a balloon artwork for Roppongi ArtNight, one of his biggest to date.
Visitors to this year’s Roppongi Art Night will be able to see different sides ofMurakami – not only as the festival’s main artist, but as a producer, too. The
artists of Kaikai Kiki – an art production and management company headed by
Murakami – will also be presenting their takes on Doraemon, which will bedisplayed under Murakami’s direction at three locations: Roppongi Hills Arena,
Tokyo Midtown and National Art Center, Tokyo.
Moreover, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary since the birth of the Doraemon
series.
It’s exciting to see how Murakami and other artists alive today will engage andcollaborate with the legendary character.

“Roppongi Art Night 2020” Theme:

Magical Adventure
Find your art of wonder in the town!
Every year, for one night only, the entire district of Roppongi istransformed by art. From contemporary art created with a special
version of the famous character Doraemon to light installations, video,music, and performance, art from all over the world gathers together
for this unique festival in the heart of Tokyo.
Bewitched by the magic of art, the whole neighborhood changes into afantastical, mysterious world that appears for just a single weekend!
Embark on an exploration of these art wonders, discover surprises andexcitement galore, and join Doraemon for a one-night-only adventurein Roppongi.
Roppongi Art Night 2020 Main visual©2020 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
©MADSAKI/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. ©Fujiko-Pro

This year’s main visual was created based on the original visual by artist Takashi Murakami, who is in charge of the main program.
Murakami’s representative motif, flowers, will be placed around the motif “Doraemon” selected by Murakami for this time. The flowers used
for the visual is a collaboration with artist MADSAKI, who is also participating for Roppongi Art Night. Groovisions, one of the design studiothat represents Japan, will be in charge of visual productions.

Media Inquiries
Public Relations and Promotion Office, “Roppongi Art Night 2020” Executive Committee
Mr. MIKAMI, Ms. KOTANITEL：03-5774-1420 ／ Mail：ran2020@one-o.com

1Message from our Main Program Artist

Photo by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

People from outside Japan tend to think of Tokyo as a real megalopolis. Like, a straight-out-ofBlade-Runner sort of metropolis. With cute robot girls walking around town.
So then, out of all the art that this city offers, what’s really real? My answer is manga. Mangacomics are Japanese art. But then there’s Western-style art too. So I asked myself what would be
the best fusion, the best collaboration of these two, and decided that Doraemon would be best.
Why? Because there’s such a wonderful gap in reactions, a geographical variation in how he’sreceived around the world.
With my previous collaboration with Uniqlo, I did a combination of Doraemon and my flowers. The
response from people from other parts of Asia was like, “Yes! You’ve nailed it, Japan! Doraemon!
So cute, so cool! And with art, too!” But with Western audiences, it was more like, “Oh, a crossover
between Murakami’s usual flowers and a Japanese character! I’m not sure I get it, but nice!” This
undertaking’s aim is to leverage these differences in reception and in the order of perception toshow, in a tangible way, what people want out of art today.
So this is it, Roppongi Art Night. This year, we’ll be approaching it more from the perspective of ourvisitors from overseas than of Japanese people. I wonder how that’ll turn out?
Well, I hope you come and see for yourselves.
Takashi Murakami＜＜Profile＞＞
Born in Tokyo in 1962. His “Superflat” theory reimagines the sources of Japanese traditional painting and contemporary art through the visual logic and underpinnings ofanime and manga. Murakami has created many characters that are reflections of otaku culture, such as Miss Ko² and Mr. DOB, producing sculptures with a high kitsch
factor and hyper-two-dimensional paintings that represent the polar opposite of Western perspective. His cultural theories, which are based on Japanese subculture, do not
only dismantle hierarchies between high and low: they offer a critical depiction of the postwar Japanese psychology, establishing a uniquely Japanese discourse in thecontext of the globalizing art scene. His collaborations with Louis Vuitton and activities that have focused on street culture and contemporary ceramics continue to win
him new audiences around the world that transcend the domain of contemporary art. The final installment of his Superflat Trilogy, the exhibition Little Boy at Japan Society(New York) curated by Murakami himself in 2005, won the Best Thematic Show by AICA-USA (International Association of Art Critics United States). From 2007 to 2009,his first retrospective exhibition, ©MURAKAMI, travelled to four cities in Europe and the United States, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Since
2010, Murakami has held solo exhibitions at cities around the world, including the Palace of Versailles, the Al Riwaq Exhibition Hall, Doha, the Mori Art Museum, theGarage Museum of Contemporary Art,Moscow, and Tai Kwun Contemporary,Hong Kong,

On “Roppongi Art Night 2020”

Photo: Ito Akinori

Roppongi Art Night is an art festival staged in the streets of Roppongi over a two-day period. The theme for thisyear’s installment – the eleventh since the festival’s launch – is “A magical adventure: Find Your Art of Wonder inthe Town!” And what’s more magical than Doraemon, the famous robot cat with his four-dimensional pocket full ofgadgets? For “Roppongi Art Night 2020”, we welcome leading Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami as
the festival’s main artist , whose collaborative work involving the nation’s favorite robot will be filling the Roppongi
district with the power of dreams. There will also be a wide range of video works, installations and performances onshow, which are sure to expand the world of wondrous imagination for you all with the magical power of art.
This year, Art Night’s display will also extend to the Imoaraizaka side of Roppongi Crossing. We hope you enjoy
the magical adventure enchanted by art, which will last from Saturday afternoon into the night, all the way throughto Sunday afternoon.
Chairperson of Roppongi Art Night Executive Committee
Mami Kataoka （Director of Mori Art Museum）

Overview of “Roppongi Art Night 2020”■Official Title:■Overview:■Time & Date:

Roppongi Art Night 2020
Roppongi Art Night is an one-night art extravaganza staged in the district of Roppongi. The event proposes a pioneering model forurban development as well as a lifestyle that celebrates the enjoyment of art in our everyday lives. Presenting contemporary art,design, music, film, and performances, Roppongi Art Night offers an extraordinary experience. Launched in March 2009, the eventis growing every year. * The 2011 event was cancelled due to the Great East Japan Earthquake.
May 30 (Sat),10:00 – May 31 (Sun), 18:00, 2020
* There will also be “Pre Programs art programs exhibited or installed prior to the opening of Roppongi Art Night 2020 as well as year round appraisals
and evaluations of the project■Venues:■Admission:■Organizers:

Roppongi Hills; Mori Art Museum; Tokyo Midtown; Suntory Museum of Art; 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT; The National Art Center, Tokyo;
Roppongi Shopping District; other cooperating facilities and public spaces in the Roppongi area.
Free (however, fee is required for certain programs and museum events)
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), Minato City,Roppongi Art Night Executive Committee [The National Art Center, Tokyo; Suntory Museum of Art; Tokyo Midtown;
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT; Mori Art Museum; Mori Building; Roppongi Shopping District Association]* Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Arts Council Tokyo, and Minato city will be confirmed after
the general account budget for fiscal year 2020 passes each legislative organization.

■Support:
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan in the fiscal 2020■Special collaboration: Fujiko-Pro
WEB:
https://www.roppongiartnight.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RoppongiArtNight/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/r_artnight
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/roppongi_art_night_official/
Hashtag:#roppongiartnight2020 , #roppongiartnight* In the light of the New Corona virus infection status, If changes occur in implementation contents, we will inform you again on our website.

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