Roppongi Art Night 2019, an art feast set in the Roppongi district, will be held again this year. The event will take place over two days, May 25th and 26th.


Roppongi Art Night marks its 10th anniversary. This year's theme is "Night Journey, Daytime Dream." The main program features Korean artist Choi Jeong-hwa, a leading figure in Asia's contemporary art scene. Various artists will be dotted throughout Roppongi with a wide range of programs and works, including contemporary art, design, music, video, and performance, creating an extraordinary experience.

Choi Jeong-hwa will exhibit his colorful balloon sculpture, "Fruit Tree," at Roppongi Hills Arena. Synthetic vinyl sculptures in the shapes of fruits and vegetables that appear to have fallen from branches will be placed in the arena, transforming the area into a magical garden.

Completed image of Roppongi Hills Arena

Choi Jeong-hwa's work "Life Life," exhibited in Canopy Square on the first floor of the Plaza at Tokyo Midtown, is made of approximately 10,000 undulating balloons. It becomes a huge mass of color that evokes 1960s pop art and covers the entire space.

Choi Jeong-hwa uses everyday objects as her motifs. "Let's Collect Together," which will be exhibited at the National Art Center, Tokyo and in front of Blue Bottle Coffee along Ryudocho Art Museum Street at TRI-SEVEN ROPPONGI, is a work made from donated mass-produced plastic items and ordinary kitchen utensils. Visitors will be captivated by the unique shapes and colors created by stacking these items, reminiscent of sculptures and temple pillars.


From May 20th to 26th, American artist Kurt Perschke's "Red Ball Project," making its Japanese debut, will tour the Roppongi area, including Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown, and the National Art Center, Tokyo. This project, which has been carried out in 32 cities to date, redraws the map of the city by moving a giant red rubber ball from one place to another.

Installation view from "Red Ball Project" in Chicago
Photo: Kurt Perschke

A "FUROSHIKI PARIS" report exhibition is being held on the hillside side of Roppongi Hills Mori Garden. As part of the "Paris-Tokyo Cultural Tandem 2018," a cultural exchange project between Tokyo and Paris, Tsuyoshi Tane was appointed art director for "FUROSHIKI PARIS," which took place in the fall of 2018. The event featured Takeshi Kitano, Yayoi Kusama, Constance Guisset, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nicolas Buffe, Mika Ninagawa, Morihiro Hosokawa, and others, and featured furoshiki exhibitions, installations, workshops, and more in front of Paris's City Hall, spreading the appeal of furoshiki to the world. At this year's Roppongi Art Night, the original furoshiki by each artist exhibited in Paris will be shown in Japan for the first time. Installations are also planned.

Scenes from "FUROSHIKI PARIS" in 2018
Photo: Takuji Shimmura

Other participating artists include Chih-Wei Chuang, WOW, Hiraki Sawa, Akira Takayama, Ei Wada + Nicos Orchest-Lab, Sputniko! + Tomomi Nishizawa, Andrew Binkley, Mao Wadayama, Emiko Makino, Hirokazu Shimo, Masato Tanaka, Yukio Suzuki, Ayumi Tsuchiya, Cedric Le Borgne, Gotomaru Hayashi, Yasuaki Onishi, and Joshua Okon.

From 7pm on May 25th, there will be a screening of Banksy's directorial debut, "Exit Through the Gift Shop," at the Midtown Garden Lawn Square in Tokyo Midtown.

In addition, on the day there will be a full range of linked events, such as special programs for exhibitions being held at various art museums, galleries, and facilities, and extended opening hours. Be sure to enjoy a thrilling artistic weekend as you see, feel, and touch the artworks. For more details about the project, check out the official website (http://www.roppongiartnight.com/).