Tour around Nihonbashi and Kyobashi, Tokyo to Enjoy Learning and Experiencing Art at Tokyo Art & Antiques 2025" held from April 24 to 26!

2024.12.27 09:30

東京アートアンティーク実行委員会

The Tokyo Art & Antiques Executive Committee will hold "Tokyo Art & Antiques 2025 - Nihonbashi/Kyobashi Art Festival" (hereafter "Tokyo Art & Antiques") from April 24 (Thursday) to April 26 (Saturday), 2025. This year will mark the 15th time this event has been held, with around 80 art galleries participating each year.

東京アートアンティーク開催中の街の様子。マップを手に多くの人がギャラリーを巡っている。

A view of the city during the Tokyo Art & Antiques. Many people are visiting galleries with a map in their hands.

For the event that will be held in 2025, we will focus on practical "learning". One such event will focus on the theme of art traditions and techniques, inviting several currently active artists to talk about the traditions and techniques he/she has inherited and developed, as well as his/her ideas and production of art. By creating such a forum, visitors can gain a deeper understanding of the artwork and enjoy it in the actual viewing experience.

In addition, influencers who provide art commentary and information will give gallery tours, and specialists in flower arrangement and coordination will be invited to show how art works can actually be used and exhibited in daily life, using examples of artwork from each gallery.

The Nihonbashi/Kyobashi area in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, has been home to about 150 specialty stores dealing in antiques, crafts, Japanese paintings, modern paintings, sculptures, and prints since the postwar period. Such a high concentration of art stores is rare in the world, and the area is a historic center of art and culture where great writers, artists, and politicians of the Showa period (1926-1989) went in search of works of art. Taking advantage of its regional characteristics, Tokyo Art & Antiques began in 1998 as the "Nihonbashi/Kyobashi Antiques Festival" and was renamed the "Tokyo Art & Antiques Festival" in 2010.

In addition, local companies have also been involved in the "ART POWER KYOBASHI" art project, which includes public art exhibits at the TODA BUILDING, which opened in November 2024, and "ART IN TOKYO YNK" held in the lobby of the Tokyo Square Garden office building. Local companies are also focusing on the deep relationship with art in the area and are strongly promoting the "art town" aspect of the area. In addition, with the opening of the "CREATIVE MUSEUM TOKYO" in the TODA BUILDING and contemporary galleries, the Nihonbashi/Kyobashi area is transforming into a new "art town" that caters to a wide range of generations and interests.

During Tokyo Art & Antiques, about 50 or so special exhibitions are held each year at various galleries. The exhibitions are not held through glass as in art museums, but rather provide an opportunity for visitors to learn about, become familiar with, and feel art as a part of their daily lives through communication with gallery owners and artists, while actually holding and touching works of art, from young artists to first-rate works of art. We hope you will wander around and enjoy art during the three days of fine weather before Golden Week.

ギャラリストから直接解説を受ける来場者

Visitors receiving commentary directly from the gallerist

新進気鋭の現代アートを扱うギャラリー

Galleries featuring up-and-coming contemporary art

古美術と現代の作品をマッチして展示する様子はこの地域の特性を表している

The matched display of ancient and contemporary works of art is indicative of the area's character

古代から現代まで、様々なジャンルの美術品を見て回ることができる

Visitors can browse through a variety of art genres, from ancient to contemporary

老舗の古美術店や画廊が多く点在する東仲通り(美術愛好家から「骨董通り」「仲通り」の通称で親しまれている)

Higashinaka-dori dotted with many long-established antique stores and galleries (known as "Kotto-dori" or "Naka-dori" by art lovers)

アート好きのインバウンドには、一度に多くのアート作品を見て回ることができる機会となる

For inbound art lovers, this is an opportunity to see many artworks at once.

応援したくなる若手作家の作品にも出会える

You can also encounter works by young artists whom you would like to support

普段使いの古伊万里食器などが安心して求めやすい価格で販売されているのもこの時期ならでは

This is also the time of year when you can find Ko-Imari tableware for daily use at reasonable prices.

在廊するアーティストも多いことから、この時期は交流も盛んに行われる(2024年に行われた日本画画家のギャラリートークの様子)

Since there are many artists who visit the gallery, there is a lot of exchange activities during this season (a gallery talk by a Japanese painter in 2024).

毎年専門家や有識者を招き、講演会を行っている。2024年は、テノール歌手であり、彫刻家である秋川雅史氏をお招きし、コレクションの楽しみについてお話をうかがった。

Every year, we invites specialists and experts to give lectures, and in 2024, tenor singer and sculptor Masafumi Akikawa was invited to talk about the pleasures of the collection.

*Admission may be limited in galleries that are expected to be crowded.

[Outline of the exhibition]

Name ： Tokyo Art & Antiques 2025 ～Nihonbashi/Kyobashi Art Festival

Dates ： April 24 (Thursday) to 26 (Saturday), 2025 (according to each store's business hours)

Area ： Kyobashi and Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Art stores and galleries: 70 (as of December 16, 2024)

Sponsor/Operation ： Tokyo Art & Antiques Executive Committee

Official Website : https://www.tokyoartantiques.com/

Facebook ： https://www.facebook.com/Tokyo.A.A

[Reference]

Brochure download for 2024: http://www.tokyoartantiques.com/downloads/

Main scheduled events