PRESS RELEASE

July 12 2017
Roppongi Art Night 2017 Executive Committee- Experience the unexpected, A night of art and festivities -Roppongi Art Night 2017
This year’s theme is ‘Mirai no Matsuri’ (festivals of the future).
Visuals and selection finalized!
Welcoming Mika Ninagawa as the main artist, this year’s event will feature a wide
range of exciting art programs. Also celebrating the launch of the ‘Southeast Asia
Project’ an initiative that promotes creating artworks with the local community.
The Roppongi Art Night Executive Committee will be hosting Roppongi Art Night 2017 for 2 days on September
30 (Sat) and October 1(Sun), 2017.
Launched in 2009, Roppongi Art Night will be celebrating its 8th session. A festival of art staged in the district ofRoppongi, Roppongi Art Night has grown to attract over 800,000 visitors, offering an energetic surreal experienceto those walking the streets from sunset to sunrise.
This year’s theme is ‘Mirai no Matsuri’(festivals of the future), and Roppongi Art Night is excited in welcoming
Photographer and Film Director Mika Ninagawa as the main artist. A truly diverse artist, Ninagawa has a strongfollowing not only within Japan, but also abroad and especially in Asia. She has been featured in numerous
publications and media and has held exhibitions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia with great success. Do not
miss the beautiful and seductive world of Mika Ninagawa.
In addition, Roppongi Art Night will be launching the ‘Southeast Asia Project’ in which artists from Southeast Asia
as well as Japanese artists will work together with the Roppongi community and its people to create and presentart. They will create art works based on the theme ‘matsuri (festival) ’ and present their works at Roppongi Art
Night. Powerful and spirited artists will gather from around the world to offer a magical experience.
＜ Roppongi Art Night 2017 Theme ; Mirai no Matsuri (festivals of the future) ＞
What comes to mind on hearing the word ‘matsuri (festival)’? The general definition for matsuri is ‘the act ofpraying to or worshiping a deity or ancestors to give thanks or to comfort the spirit’. However, in recent years,
music festivals and art festivals are all considered a matsuri. What all of these have in common is that people
gather to share an experience and pass on cultures to future generations and is a communication platform.
This year’s Roppongi Art Night 2017, will be featuring art and performance from around the world, including manyfrom Asia, proposing a new creative form of ‘matsuri (festival)’ .

Roppongi Art Night 2017 Visual CompletedThis year’s visual for Roppongi Art Night 2017 has been finalized with thetheme ‘Mirai no Matsuri’(festivals of the future).
It is designed by groovisions, a Tokyo based design studio that is known
for their still and motion graphics. The graphic artwork will be displayedaround the city as the icon for Roppongi Art Night 2017.

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Photo by Mika Ninagawa
MINATO CITYPRESS RELEASE

Main Program ① ：Installations by Mika Ninagawa

Main Program Artist ;Mika Ninagawa＜Mika Ninagawa Profile＞
Photographer and Film Director
She has received numerous awards including the renowned Kimura Ihei Award. Films
include ‘Sakuran’ (2007) and ‘Helter Skelter’ (2012). Her 2008 solo exhibition toured art
museums throughout Japan. Published a photo book from Rizzoli N.Y. in 2010, and hersolo exhibition at MOCA Taipei(2016) broke the museum record for attendence
number. Appointed as one of the executive board members of the 2020 Tokyo
Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
For Roppongi Art Night, Ninagawa will exhibit several installations that are inspired bythis year’s theme ‘Mirai no Matsuri’(festivals of the future). The installations include hervarious unique motifs as well as her extraordinary sense of color. Ninagawa’s works,
combined with the ‘Asia’ themed art pieces, will transform the city of Roppongi, with
Roppongi Hills Arena being the main venue along with several other locations.
www.ninamika.com

Main Program ② ： Southeast Asia ProjectThe ‘Southeast Asia Project’ is the second main program of Roppongi Art Night 2017.
Artists from Southeast Asia and Japanese are invited to work together with various people and communities ofRoppongi. Through workshops and research of local history and cultural resources, the project aims to vitalize
cultural activities as well as actualizing potential local content. Look forward to ‘matsuri’ themed art pieces by thelocal community and artists only at Roppongi Art Night 2017.
＜Navin Rawanchaikul＞ (Thailand)《Tales from the Land of Six Trees》
Thai artist Navin Rawanchaikul will be creating Roppongi inspired films, painting,and dance performances. The works will feature the residents of Roppongi andtheir colorful lifestyles.
《OK Tower》
2016
Installation view at Nishiura village, Megijima, Japan
Photo by Navin Production＜Neo Angono Artist Collective＞ (Philippines)《The Roppongi Higantes Project Walking Among Giants: Them Are Us Too》

Artist group based out of Angono, Philippines, famous for the Higantes Festival.
Will be presenting an original Higantes Festival at Roppongi Art Night.
《Angono Higantes,Big and Small》
photo credit ： photo walk Philippines/whatsnewph.com＜The National Museum of Art Okutama＞ (Japan)《24h Human Clock》 (Asia version)》
Artist collective launched in Oume City, Tokyo in 2012. Many of themembers have presented works around Southeast Asia. They will create anAsia themed ‘human clock’ where humans are the clock hands.
《Drawing for 24h Human Clock》

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PRESS RELEASE

Overview of Roppongi Art Night 2017
■Official Title：■Overview：

Roppongi Art Night 2017
Roppongi Art Night is a one-night celebration of art staged in the district of Roppongi. The event proposesa pioneering model for urban development as well as a lifestyle that celebrates the enjoyment of art in oureveryday lives. Presenting modern art, design, music, film, and performances, Roppongi Art Night offers asurreal, extraordinary experience. Launched in March 2009, the event is growing every year.
■Time and Date： September 30 (Sat) ~ October 1 (Sun), 2017
<Core Times> September 30 (Sat) 17:27 (Sunset) ~ October 1 (Sun) 05:36 (Sunrise)*Core times is the period with the highest concentration of events with many performances and workshops held.

■Venues：

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.
■Admission：
Free (however, fee is required for certain programs and museum events)■Organizers：
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History andCulture), 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]■Official Website： http://www.roppongiartnight.com■ Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/RoppongiArtNight/■ Twitter：
https://twitter.com/r_artnight■ Instagram：
https://www.instagram.com/roppongi_art_night_official/* All programs may change or be cancelled depending on circumstances such as weather.

Roppongi Art Night2009

550 thousand people

Kenji Yanobe《Adventures with Giant Torayan》

2013

830 thousand people

Katsuhiko Hibino《TRIP→Project》

Total number of attendees for past events

2010

Noboru Tsubaki《Before Flower》

700 thousand people

2012

700 thousand people

Yayoi Kusama《Love Forever, The Future is Mine!》2014 700 thousand people

2015 780 thousand people

2016630 thousand people

Yoshinari Nishio《People’s House: Skirt》

Seiichi Saito《​Art Truck Project “Hal” “Akebono”》

Kohei Nara/Seijun Nishihata/daisy
Balloon Main Program*The 2011 event was cancelled due to
The Great East Japan Earthquake

Media Inquiries
Public Relations and Promotion Office, Roppongi Art Night 2017 Executive Committee
Ikuyo Takamoto, Hitomi Kai , Ayano Tomisaki
TEL：03-4477-5556 FAX：03-5469-0680 mail： roppongiartnight2017@pr01.com

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