MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2025, one of Japan's largest art festivals, will be held from October 10th to 13th at Tennozu Isle in Tokyo. This year's theme is "Ahead of the Rediscovery Stream." A variety of forms of expression, including art, music, design, talks, and markets, will intertwine in the waterfront urban space, creating an experience of "rediscovery" that will stir the senses and memories.

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A waterside festive space where the city and art resonate
The venue will be the Tennozu Canal area, centered around the Terrada Warehouse G3 to G6 buildings. This cluster of warehouses, which once thrived as a logistics hub, has now been reborn as a hub for art and culture, serving as a stage where the city and art intersect. Exhibits will be scattered both indoors and outdoors, and light, wind, and even reflections on the water's surface will be incorporated into the performance, making the entire city function as a single installation. As visitors walk through the city, they will be able to immerse themselves in the sensation of the boundaries between the artworks and the city melting away. This spatial composition is the true essence of this festival. Art breathes new life into a place where memories of the past industry live on, re-editing the timeline of the city. This endeavor creates a poetic landscape befitting the location of Tennozu Isle.

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Main Exhibition "Ahead of the Rediscovery Stream" - Contemporary Art that Stimulates the Five Senses
"Ahead of the Rediscovery Stream," the core exhibition of the festival, features artists such as Izumi Kan, Orimoto Tatsumi, Chim↑Pom from Smappa! Group x Komuro Tetsuya, Tezuka Aiko, Matsuoka Seigo x Moriyama Mirai, MANTLE, and Yagi Ryota. The exhibition aims to evoke memories and emotions hidden in the viewer's subconscious by engaging with a variety of senses, including sight, hearing, and smell.

《simulation #4 -The Thunderbolt Odyssey- 》(2023) © Kenji Agata/Courtesy of avex creator agency
Izumi Kan will exhibit a new work that explores people's memories through scent, while Yagi Ryota will present his sculpture 《Stupa》, which emits the sound of water droplets from a tower-shaped speaker. The entire space will be filled with a chain of sound, scent, and light, allowing visitors to experience a reboot of dormant senses within themselves.

Yagi Ryota "Stupa" "Time Resonance", Izumi Kan "Research on exhibition methods related to the sense of smell"
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Lake Solo Dance (2023) Photo: Hamada Yuji, Collection: Omi ARS/Courtesy of avex creator agency

Chim↑Pom x Tetsuya Komuro "SUN" - A story of life and rebirth
One of the most notable works is "SUN," a collaborative piece by Chim↑Pom from Smappa! Group and Tetsuya Komuro. Starting with text written by member Ellie based on her own experience of childbirth, Tetsuya Komuro has constructed a new acoustic space, developing it into an installation where light, sound, and words intersect. The work, which explores the themes of the birth of life and the circulation of memory, has become a symbolic presence of the festival as a "raw expression" that emerges somewhere between the physical and the spiritual.

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On October 10th, Mirai Moriyama will act as MC, and the two will hold a public talk session. This will be a real-time creative dialogue that crosses the boundaries of art and music, creating a sense of unity that will envelop the entire venue.



Art market and crafts - where life and creativity intersect
During the event, the art fair "MEET YOUR ARTISTS" will also be held, connecting art with "tangible" experiences. More than 300 works by 44 artists from Japan and abroad will be gathered together, and visitors will be able to speak to the artists themselves before purchasing. Additionally, in the "CROSSOVER" area, which transcends the boundaries of art, music, and fashion, exhibitors such as ESOW, NAIJEL GRAPH, and Face Oka will gracefully straddle the boundary between street and contemporary fashion.

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In addition, the "SUPER ART & CRAFT MARKET," featuring over 90 participating stores, will combine crafts, fashion, and food to create a market space where art can be felt more intimately. One of the great attractions of this festival is that it allows you to not only view the works but also incorporate them into your daily life.



Music, Talk, and Film - A Sensory Experience That Crosses Cultures
During the festival, there will also be a number of live performances and talk programs that combine art and music. The music program will feature Nujabes Metaphorical Ensemble xtimes; Yamaguchi Rekishi, Dos Monos, GAMO, LanPage, Kitamura Fuki, and others, who will present a fantastical performance that intersects sound, light, and physical expression.

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The "WHAT CAFE" talk session will feature a diverse range of guests, including Tetsuya Komuro and Chim↑Pom, as well as Haruna Kondo, Seiji Kameda, Hayate Wada, Megumi, and Ryota Katayose. They will discuss "creation" and "regeneration" from the perspectives of art, music, fashion, and more. In the evening, "ELLE CINEMA Night" and "ART FILM PROGRAM" will be held, screening films and video works in a space along the canal. Light reflected on the water's surface will illuminate the city, leaving a lingering impression of the festival as an experience of time and memory.



A Scene of "Rediscovery" Painted Through the City and Art
"MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL" continues to evolve year after year as an attempt to reconnect cities and people through art. Exhibitions, live performances, talks, markets—all kinds of expression intersect to present new possibilities for art. Rather than simply appreciating the artworks, visitors experience, interact, and incorporate them into their daily lives. This series of events provides each and every visitor with a moment of "rediscovery."

From left) Yamamoto Reira "I hate flowers 25", Yamada Kohei "untitled", Lea Embeli "NA" *All works shown in the images will be exhibited and sold at this fair/Courtesy of avex creator agency

As the breeze blows by the waterside and the lights of the city flicker, art will awaken people's senses for four days. This year, a new flow of culture will be born again at the intersection of memory and creativity that resides in Tennozu Isle.

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※Updated 10/11 (images added)