Press

May 31, 2023

2023 Curatorial Theme: “Visions of a Torn World: Circulation and Coexistence”

Over the past several years, many of us have been compelled to avoid spending much of our time face-to-face with others. On the other hand, however, we may also have been afforded time to face ourselves anew. Now in 2023, after a certain period of stagnation, our connections with others and with society are beginning to move again.
This year, under the curatorial theme of “Visions of a Torn World: Circulation and Coexistence,” ACK will explore ways to live in a “new world emerging from division” that is just about to begin.
There is a Zen saying, “No pine has two colors, old and new; The bamboo’s knot marks up and down.”
This phrase expresses the way a society should be, where equality and difference coexist. We are aware of the fact that there are many differences in modern society, such as gender, nationality, occupation, and so on. At the same time, we are beginning to realize that these are not actually essential issues. People’s positions, ways of being, and ways of thinking are in flux, constantly changing and metamorphosing with the flow of the times. In a society and environment shaped in this way, it is important to understand the differences between us, to stop, think, and discuss, and to encourage a cycle that moves us in the right direction.

Art is also a reflection of the time in which we live. Contemporary art, crafts, antique art, music, video, NFT, digital art, and other art fields are becoming ever more diverse, but there is no superiority or inferiority among them; each and every one has a different value.
In Kyoto, a city with a rich historical landscape, not only traditional arts but also new generations of art and activities, international art fairs and art festivals, and many other manifestations of culture are constantly circulating and evolving.
We hope that ACK will serve as a catalyst for visualizing such diversity and creating the future together.

Yamashita Yukako, ACK Program Director

Born in Tokyo in 1988 to a family that runs a tea ceremony utensils business in Kyoto. Completed an MA in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. After an internship at Sotheby’s London, she joined Sotheby’s Japan, where she oversaw the sales of contemporary art. From 2017 to 2022, she was the managing director of THE CLUB.
She has been a visiting professor at Kyoto University of Arts since 2020. She was appointed Program Director of Art Collaboration Kyoto and Kyoto City Growth Strategy Promotion Advisor in 2022.

New Selection Committee Members

ACK is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to the Selection Committee*. Two up-and-coming gallerists from Taipei and Paris will join ACK to implement a greater international selection of galleries.

Axel Dibie

​​It is a great honor to be part of the selection committee of ACK together with gallerists I admire. Since I participated in ACK in 2022 I have been strongly interested in the very unique concept of a collaboration fair between Japanese and foreign galleries. ACK is more than a fair, it is a true art exhibition within one of the most historical and refined places in the world, Kyoto.

Axel Dibie is the co-founder, together with Alix Dionot-Morani, of Galerie Crèvecoeur in 2009. The gallery now has three locations in Paris. He is also the co-Founder and co-owner of Paris Internationale. He was born in Paris in 1981 and holds Masters in Political Science and History of Art.

Shelly Wu

I’m really excited to take part as ACK selection committee member, to have the opportunity to engage and explore new possibilities with some of the best gallerists, and to present the best of Kyoto to international audiences.

Shelly Wu is the founder and director of TKG+, a contemporary art gallery based in Taipei, Taiwan. Since its founding in 2009, the gallery has been promoting established and mid-career artists on international platforms focusing on nurturing Taiwanese contemporary art and promoting diverse artistic forms across Southeast Asia, and has become a leading platform for artistic expression. Ms. Wu is committed to supporting emerging artists through TKG+ Projects, a space invested in experimental art forms, where artists are encouraged to break boundaries and pursue their artistic ambitions.

ACK 2023 Main Visual

designed by Morita Akihiro

Art Collaboration Kyoto Overview

Preview (by invitation only): October 27 Fri., 2023
Public opening dates: October 28 Sat. – 30 Mon., 2023
Venue: Kyoto International Conference Center (Takaragaike, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City) and others
Organizer:
ACK Executive Committee
　　Kyoto Prefecture
　　Association for the Promotion of Contemporary Art in Japan
　　Contemporary Art Dealers Association Nippon
　　Culture Vision Japan Foundation Inc.
　　Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry
　　Kyoto Convention and Visitors Bureau

Support:
Japan Tourism Agency, Government of Japan in the fiscal 2022, The Cabinet Office, Government of Japan in the fiscal 2023
In cooperation with:
JETRO Kyoto, Kyoto City, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Japan Association of New Economy, The Kyoto Shimbun

URL: a-c-k.jp

Exhibiting Galleries

There will be two sections at ACK: Gallery Collaborations and Kyoto Meetings.

　

Gallery Collaborations

In this section, Japanese galleries welcome galleries based overseas as their guests, sharing booths with them. This year, there are 26 Japanese galleries participating and 27 guest galleries from overseas (9 from North and South America, 9 from Europe, and 9 from the Asia Pacific), forming a total of 53 galleries that introduce world-class contemporary art domestically and internationally.

　

Hosts (26 Japanese galleries)
Guests (27 overseas galleries)

　

Anomaly (Tokyo)
ROH (Jakarta) / Fitzpatrick Gallery (Paris)

　

Blum & Poe (Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo)
Matthew Brown (Los Angeles)

　

Cohju Contemporary Art (Kyoto)
Galleri Urbane (Dallas)

　

Con_ (Tokyo)
Peter Augustus (Dallas)

　

Eukaryote (Tokyo)
Saenger Galería (Mexico City)

　

Hagiwara Projects (Tokyo)
Claas Reiss (London)

　

imura art gallery (Kyoto)
A Pick Gallery (Turin)

　

Kayokoyuki (Tokyo)
Ramiken (New York)

　

Koki Arts (Tokyo)
Flowers Gallery (Hong Kong, London)

　

Kotaro Nukaga (Tokyo)
Almine Rech (Paris, Brussels, London, New York, Shanghai)

　

Misako & Rosen (Tokyo, Brussels)
47 Canal (New York)

　

Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo, Singapore, New York)
Sullivan + Strumpf (Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore)

　

Mori Yu Gallery (Kyoto)
Galerie Louis Gendre (Chamalières)

　

Satoko Oe Contemporary (Tokyo)
A Thousand Plateaus Art Space (Chengdu)

　

SCAI the Bathhouse (Tokyo)
Axel Vervoordt Gallery (Antwerp, Hong Kong)

　

Shibunkaku (Kyoto)
Galerie Crèvecoeur (Paris)

　

Sho + 1 (Tokyo)
Arts of Life – Circle Contemporary (Chicago, Glenview)

　

ShugoArts (Tokyo)
TKG+ (Taipei)

　

Standing Pine (Nagoya)
Chi-Wen Gallery (Taipei)

　

Taka Ishii Gallery (Tokyo, Kyoto, Maebashi)
Mendes Wood DM (São Paulo, Brussels New York)

　

Taro Nasu (Tokyo)
Galerie Eva Presenhuber (Zurich, New York, Vienna)

　

Tomio Koyama Gallery (Tokyo)
Johyun Gallery (Busan)

　

XYZ collective (Tokyo)
Union Pacific (London)

　

Yoshiaki Inoue Gallery (Osaka)
Rossi & Rossi (Hong Kong)

　

Yutaka Kikutake Gallery (Tokyo)
PBG (Seoul)

　

4649 (Tokyo)
Newton (New York)

　
　

Kyoto Meetings

Artists from Japan and overseas with connections to Kyoto are presented in this section. This year, the number and size of booths has been expanded to include galleries based overseas. Please enjoy the exhibits distinctive of Kyoto.

　

Artcourt Gallery (Osaka)
Finch Arts (Kyoto)
Karma (New York)
Maki Fine Arts (Tokyo)
Maki Gallery (Tokyo)
Neugerriemschneider (Berlin)
Sokyo Gallery (Kyoto, Lisbon, Tokyo)
Taguchi Fine Art (Tokyo)
Tezukayama Gallery (Osaka)
Yumiko Chiba Associates (Tokyo)
Gallery 38 (Tokyo)

　

　

Inquiry

ACK Executive Committee, Overseas Media Relations
Yoshiko Nawa and Rasa Tsuda press@2023.a-c-k.jp