Held at the National Museum of Singapore!! “JAPAN TIDE: Japanese Trends”

As a tourist resort, people from all over the world gather in Singapore, and the whole country is putting effort into nurturing and developing the art industry. What was held this time in the same country”Japan Tide ~ Japanese Trends ~ at National Museum of SingaporeIt's”. Japan Promotion is a Japanese culture dissemination project that started in 2017 with the aim of revitalizing cultural exchange”Japan TideThis exhibition was planned and managed as part of “(Japan Tide)”.
Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, the event was held under various restrictions, but many people visited, and it was a success beyond imagination.

Japan Tide ~ Japanese Trends ~ at National Museum of Singapore
■Period: 2022/4/22 (Fri) -24 (Sun)
■Venue: National Museum of Singapore

Set in a historic venue

The National Museum of Singapore (National Museum of Singapore) was the venue, where you can experience Singapore's history and the latest technology, and is also known as the country's oldest art and museum. The building was opened in 1887 and has been around for over 130 years.
Hokusai prints and Japanese crafts were also sold at the museum shop in front of the exhibition floor. Also, on the street near the venue, there is an advertisement for an original picture exhibition of a popular Japanese anime. Everywhere, I strongly felt the high level of interest in Japan.
Singapore is also famous as a pro-Japanese country, but this time it's a cultural exchange through the art field. It was 3 days where contemporary Japanese art and Singaporean history collaborated brilliantly.

Children and adults alike are glued to Japanese art

I had the opportunity to manage solo exhibitions and art events at museums in France, Dubai, and Japan, but the exhibition at the same museum was the first attempt for Japan Promotion.
There was also a historic museum as the venue, and there was a sense of grandeur and elegance that was a bit different from solo exhibitions and regular art fairs in Japan.
What caught my eye in particular was the sight of people taking their time to appreciate each work. Everyone seemed to enjoy the atmosphere created by art works that came from Japan, such as families who enjoyed conversation while pointing at the work, people who found their favorite work and captured it in photographs, and those who carefully appreciated every corner of the work, approaching and leaving the work in front of it. Regardless of age, it was strongly conveyed that they genuinely enjoyed art, and I felt that art and art were more familiar to me than in Japan.

We also received comments from visitors about Japanese art artists.

There was also a scene where I was able to say “it was fun” and “thank you” to the artist who had traveled on the way home, so it was a very peaceful time.

Among the visitors, there were also people like this!

Various people visited the venue, including not only local residents, but also Westerners and tourists. The traveling artists and visitors were able to fully enjoy the precious moments where they directly interacted and talked through the works.

In addition to general visitors, there were many people from the creative industry, such as gallerists, art directors, collectors, artists, fashion designers, and influencers active mainly on Instagram. The art gallery manager, who has produced many internationally active artists, was also seen, and they seemed very interested.
The director of the Japan Creative Center Embassy in Singapore said, “Everyone in Singapore hasn't been able to go to Japan easily for the past 2 years due to COVID-19. Also, there were no exhibitions of Japanese artists like this in Singapore. The works of many Japanese artists were exhibited this time, and I think everyone in Singapore was very interested,” and “I would be very grateful if you had the chance to do such an exhibition at the Japan Creative Center.”

Cultural exchange through art

Works by Japanese artists have been shown across countries”Japan Tide ~ Japanese Trends ~ at National Museum of Singapore”. I can also hear that interest in Japanese art itself is growing, and it was a fruitful 3 days that won the hearts of Singaporeans who love art. The state of affairs in the world still remains unstable, but it was an exhibition where I realized the strength of art to connect countries, and people to people.

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