On April 4th, ATELIER MUJI GINZA will open on the 6th floor of the MUJI Ginza store, hosting exhibitions and events on a variety of themes related to craftsmanship and design. The 6th floor, where this gallery space is located, also houses the MUJI HOTEL front desk, a salon where you can enjoy coffee and drinks, a library stocked with design and art-related books, and a lounge where events and workshops are held.

ATELIER MUJI GINZA will have two spaces. As part of the opening project, under the name of the "Chestnut Tree Project," exhibitions will be held simultaneously in spaces 1 and 2 as an attempt to explore the possibilities of design.



The exhibition "Change. Enzo Mari and the Chestnut Tree Project" - From the Nagai Keiji Collection - held at Gallery 1 features Enzo Mari, a master of Italian design.

MUJI and Enzo Mari worked together on a project in 2002, producing a total of 19 tables and chairs. The friendship between the two has continued ever since. Starting from Enzo Mari's words, "Design once played a role in creating standards of excellence in the name of equality. However, after the period of rapid economic growth, it was reduced to a means of selling short-term products. I am ashamed to be a designer. What I am proposing from now on is not short-term economics, but a long-term project that will sustain into the future, planting chestnut trees that will grow and allow people to enjoy their fruit and relax in their shade. Isn't this the kind of perspective that companies should adopt?", this exhibition unravels the roots of Enzo Mari's work as an attempt to plant the first chestnut tree.

The exhibition features pieces borrowed from interior designer Keiji Nagai's extensive collection, primarily of postwar modern design, which he has amassed from around the world over the past 50 years.

 

Meanwhile, the "Design Starting from Words: Chestnut Tree Project" exhibition in Gallery 2 is the first project in developing the "Chestnut Tree Project," the main focus of this exhibition. The theme, "What is design?" was asked of people from various regions, generations, and occupations, and the exhibition will display words that express the question in parentheses using the short phrase "Design is ( )," like in a haiku. This question may seem simple at first glance, but it is actually a difficult challenge. Through these words, we hope to engage with these questions: What is design? What is lifestyle? What is a way of life?