Fumio Nanjo
is participant at
Where is Art Contemporary? The Global Challenge of Art Museums II
Abstract
Museums in Japan
Its development, now and future
Japan has experienced a long process of constructing museums that show modern and contemporary art for the last 30 years. The first phase of such a process was to organize art exhibitions in department stores’ event space with the financial and administrative support provided by newspaper companies. This structure was very unique in Japan but it was a driving force for numerous art exhibitions including those of Picasso and American Abstract Expressionists. This phenomena started right after World War II and lasted until the end of 1980s when Japan’s bubble economy burst. Thereafter, slowly the construction of regional and national public museums started.
