PARASOPHIA: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015, Kyoto's largest-ever international contemporary art exhibition, is running until May 10th.

This international exhibition features works by 38 artists from 36 groups, all of whom are world-renowned, and is being exhibited simultaneously across the city. The combined exhibition space across seven venues exceeds 10,000 square meters. Prior to the event, all participating artists were invited to Kyoto to create new works inspired by the city's history and culture.

In particular, the main venue, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, will feature works by a total of 31 groups. Brandt Junceau, a New York-based artist who presents sculptures and drawings, including his creative process through the evolution of his work, will exhibit "Liebespaar," a human figure inspired by the display cases of artefacts. Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Vilmouth, whose installations and performances focus on the transformation of public spaces and environments, will be showcasing "Café Little Boy," inspired by messages left by atomic bomb survivors on the exterior wall of Hiroshima's Fukuromachi Elementary School, which was damaged by the atomic bomb. Keiko Kuratomi and Satoru Takahashi will be showcasing "Ornament and Crime - Sense/Common," which creates a paradoxical space (a labyrinth of words) by arranging the white structures of a courtroom and prison, garden stones, and white nautical charts, where relationships and meanings are dismantled. Also, Gustavo Speridiao, whose first exhibition in Asia will feature drawings in the photo book "The Great LIFE Photographers" published by the American graphic magazine LIFE, will be showcasing graffiti-like drawings of words and images. Xu Tan, whose work is based on detailed research and thought in the field of social theory, will present "Social Botany: Seeds and Lineage," a reading space that combines text with a video installation based on his research in Kyoto.

Other major exhibitors include Hedwig Houben, who uses a lecture/performance method to deconstruct relationships such as conventions in artworks and turn the process itself into artwork; Ragnar Kjartansson, who has won various art awards, including the Malcolm McLaren Prize, through his happenings and performances; and Ahmed Mater, leader of the Saudi Arabian young artists' collective "Ibn Asir" and founder of "Edge of Arabia," a non-profit contemporary art organization connecting the Middle East and the West.

Also appearing at the entrance to the venue is a giant mobile stage vehicle designed by Miwa Yanagi. In the main exhibition hall, a 15-meter-tall bamboo tower is displayed with a large number of objects created by local children. After viewing these works, visitors can take a break at Arabica Kyoto's pop-up cafe. The staff uniforms were designed by Yasuharu Ishikawa of Cross Company. Meanwhile, the other main venue, the Museum of Kyoto, will exhibit the photographs of Yasumasa Morimura, known for his self-portrait-like portrayals of famous paintings and film characters. This time, two works will be exhibited: "The Handmaidens Resurrect at Night," set in the Vlad Museum, home to Velázquez's masterpiece "Las Meninas," and "Hermitage 1941-2014," themed on the Hermitage Museum during World War II, where the works were evacuated. Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster will also be joining the exhibit, with two other artists' works on display at the Museum. Aernout Mik will also present a video installation at the Kyoto Art Center. Located north of Nijo Castle, Horikawa Danchi will feature works by Pipilotti Rist, Akira Sasamoto, and Brandt Junsor. Additionally, a sound piece by Susan Phillips will be exhibited in the Kamo River Delta, and Lisa Ann Auerbach's art will be displayed in the shop windows of Ogaki Bookstore Karasuma Sanjo. In conjunction with the festival, the Kyoto Museum of Art Film Theater will screen more than 20 cinematic works. One of these is Alexander Zahlten's "A Mirror Ball That Doesn't Illuminate Asia: Asia in Japanese Film." To coincide with this program, Zahlten will select Japanese films from the 1960s to the present day. He will examine how Japan and other countries have been portrayed in these works. Zahlten, a non-partisan, will use these films to unravel the complex and bizarre history of modern East Asia.

Other events include a talk program by Morimura Yasumasa and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, a workshop on Cai Guo-Qiang's "Child Da Vincis," and lectures by participating artists, which are sure to add an artistic excitement to Kyoto along with the contemporary art exhibitions.

[Event Information]
PARASOPHIA: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015
Venues: Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, The Museum of Kyoto, Kyoto Art Center, Horikawa Danchi (Kamichojamachi Building), Kamogawa Delta (Demachiyanagi), Kawaramachi Shiokoji Area, Ogaki Bookstore Karasuma Sanjo Branch
Period: March 7th to May 10th
Admission: 1,800 yen for adults, 1,000 yen for university students/those aged 70 and over
Closed: Mondays (Open on May 4th. Kyoto Prefectural Museum of Art opens on April 27th)