Mori Art Museum — Attraction in Tokyo

Roppongi hills is a massive urban development project with the Mori Tower at the center. This anchor tower houses the Mori Art Museum on the 52nd floor and today the two exhibitions featured were extraordinary. Today we are fortunate that the Mori Art Museum has two major exhibitions. The first is WORLD CLASSROOM. Since the 1990s, when the development of contemporary art began to be considered from multiple perspectives in different parts of the world, we have been seeing that contemporary art today goes far beyond the framework of arts and crafts and fine art in the school classroom. It is a composite field with connections to all subjects, including language and literature, mathematics, science, and social studies. In each of these disciplines, researchers are exploring the “unknowns” of the world, delving into history, and making new discoveries and inventions from the past to the future in order to enrich our perception of the world. The stance adopted by contemporary artists that seeks to go beyond our preconceptions in a creative way is also connected to this exploration of these unknowns. In this sense, the contemporary art museum is something akin to a “classroom of the world” where we can encounter and learn about these unknown worlds.

WORLD CLASSROOM: Contemporary Art through School Subjects, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Mori Art Museum, is an attempt for us to encounter a world we have never seen or known from a wide variety of perspectives, using the subjects we learn at school as a gateway to contemporary art. Even though this exhibition is divided into such sections as “Language and Literature,” “Social Studies,” “Philosophy,” “Mathematics,” “Science,” “Music,” “Phys. Ed.,” and “Transdisciplinary,” each work, in fact, crosses over multiple subjects and domains. While over half of approximately 150 exhibited works will be drawn from the Mori Art Museum Collection for the first time ever, there will also be newly-commissioned artworks for this exhibition - altogether creating a “classroom of the world,” place of learning with works by 54 artists/artist groups. The second exhibition is a deep dive into the innovative Heatherwick Studio of London. The Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, is proud to present Heatherwick Studio: Building Soulfulness from Friday, March 17 to Sunday, June 4, 2023, at Tokyo City View (indoor observation deck). Established in 1994 in London, Heatherwick Studio has undertaken innovative projects in many cities including New York, Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, evolving to become one of the most closely-watched design teams in the world. Founder Thomas Heatherwick (born 1970 in UK) recounts how he would often find himself moved during his childhood by the “soulfulness” of small things that were made by craftspeople and artisans. Can the sprawling buildings and urban spaces that make our cities and towns also be imbued with this soulfulness? This is a question that often forms the starting points for a project at Heatherwick Studio. Every design is rooted in a belief that even projects as large as a city can have a human-scale, while harnessing the energies of the natural world and memories contained within architecture into new designs. At the core of this approach is the creation of places for gathering, dialogue, recreation, and enjoyment, instead of the design of “hard” elements that so often characterize products and buildings. Even as the Studio studies the history of objects and places, researches a wide spectrum of materials, and pays homage to traditional craftsmanship, their spaces, which deploy the latest developments in engineering, are replete with innovative ideas that seem to have eluded everyone else. As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and we re-evaluate our relationship with both the built and the natural environments, Heatherwick Studio’s designs feel more evocative and relevant than ever.

This exhibition is the first one in Japan to showcase twenty-eight major projects of...

One of Tokyo’s newest museums has rapidly become one Japan’s most prestigious museums.

Initially opened in October 2003, the Mori Art Museum (MAM) is located on the 52nd and 53rd floors of the 54-story Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills.

The impressive expansive and flexible exhibition spaces now occupy the entire 53rd floor of this still sparklingly distinctive building.

First time visitors will likely be confused by the fact that, even though these facilities are all located within the same tower as the businesses with offices there, there’s a completely separate first-floor entrance to Mori Art Museum, as well as the Tokyo City View observation deck, Sky Deck, and the Mori Arts Center Gallery.

You’ll need to take a very short elevator ride to the ticket sales area, where the lines sometimes seem to rival Tokyo Disneyland, before taking a longer but faster elevator ride to 52nd floor.

From here, you must take the lone escalator to the main exhibition spaces on the 53rd fly.

At 230 meters above ground, this is the highest exhibition space in Japan. Unfortunately, there are no windows from which to enjoy the view inside the exhibition hall.

FYI, the lockers for any personal belongings are located beneath that last escalator. The two ticket checkers usually standing in front of the escalator will point you to the lockers if you can’t find them.

If the lockers are full or your items won’t fit inside available lockers, go to the information/concierge desk at the far end of the locker space and they will take care of you at no charge. It’s a great perk for MAM guests!

MAM exhibitions usually feature modern art by artists on the cutting edge of their genre, be it fashion, architecture, design, photography, or even multimedia.

MAM architect Richard Gluckman also designed the Whitney Museum in New York and the Guggenheim Museum in Berlin.

For those desiring more perks, I highly recommend purchasing an Annual Passport for as little as 5,500 yen. Check the MAM website for the latest details.

If you live in Tokyo or visit here frequently throughout the year, the Annual Passport gets you free admission into the MAM together with discounted or free admission for accompanying guest(s).

You also get free admission into the Tokyo City View and the Sky Deck, with free admission for accompanying guest(s) too.

Finally, always check the MAM website before visiting! As this museum occasionally closes down early on certain days or even for extended periods, you’ll want to take care when scheduling a visit to avoid wasting your...

The Mori Art Museum deserves 5 stars for its world class exhibitions, stunning architecture and scenic location. This modern art museum in the scenic Roppongi Hills complex continuously showcases cutting edge and thought-provoking exhibits from both established and emerging artists.

The exhibitions at the Mori Art Museum are second to none, bringing the latest global art trends and movements to Tokyo. They feature a wide range of media including paintings, sculptures, installations, video art, and new media. Each exhibit is beautifully curated and accompanied by informative descriptions to help viewers fully appreciate the artist's vision and ideas. The museum does an exceptional job choosing exhibits that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also provocative and thought-provoking.

The building itself is an architectural masterpiece, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. It features geometric walls of glass and steel that frame wonderful views of the surrounding hillside and city skyline. The stunning atrium feels airy and spacious yet also intimate, providing the perfect setting to view and contemplate the art.

The scenic location atop Roppongi Hills, with its beautiful gardens and walking paths, makes a visit to the Mori Art Museum feel like an escape from the city without ever leaving Tokyo. Combined with the stunning views from the elevated structure, the museum offers an immersive sensory experience that elevates any exhibit.

The staff at the Mori Art Museum are among the most knowledgeable, welcoming and courteous I have ever encountered at an art museum. They are clearly passionate about sharing their love of art and dedicated to making every visitor's experience unforgettable.

All of these elements come together to easily earn the Mori Art Museum the full 5 stars. It truly sets the bar for what a modern art museum should be - inspirational, thought-provoking, visually stunning and truly immersive. I cannot recommend it highly enough for any art and culture lover...