Message from the Director General (for the start of 2022)

Let me begin by wishing everyone a very happy new year. On January 21, 2022, the National Art Center, Tokyo celebrates its 15h anniversary.

Let me begin by wishing everyone a very happy new year. On January 21, 2022, the National Art Center, Tokyo celebrates its 15h anniversary.

It would be no exaggeration to say that over the last 15 years, since the Center opened in 2007, our cultural, economic, and social circumstances as well as the earth's natural environment have undergone a series of dramatic changes.

In particular, since the outbreak of the coronavirus, we have confronted a variety of issues related to the raison d'etre of the Center in addition to searching for ways to implement our work here. The importance of keeping the museum open as much as possible was driven home by the unceasing creative drive and flexible viewpoints of the artists as well as all of the people who visited the Center.

As we anticipate life after the coronavirus and commemorate the Center's 15th anniversary, this year's exhibition schedule is distinguished by several major events: two solo exhibitions by a pair of contemporary art masters, and two exhibitions drawn from the abundant collection of a pair of Western museums.

European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, begins in February, while Damien Hirst, Cherry Blossoms, starts in March. We hope that you will enjoy this diverse range of painting, which has changed with the times from historical to contemporary painting.

In June, we present Museum Ludwig, Cologne - History of a Collection with Civic Commitments followed in August by Lee Ufan: 15th Anniversary of the National Art Center, Tokyo, a major solo exhibition by Lee Ufan, which also functions as a comprehensive survey of the artist's career.

In addition, an exhibition organized by an artist association opens today. Last year and the previous year, a sizable number of groups were forced to cancel their exhibitions, but this year I hope that every group will be able to present the fruits of their daily creative activities.

In March, Roppongi Art Night, an event that was postponed for the last two years, is scheduled to be held.

In 2022, more than ever, it is my hope that we will be able to break free from the last two years of the coronavirus, and that as many people as possible will be able to visit the Center freely and enjoy a variety of dialogues related to the artworks.