Kusama has been named the world’s most popular artist / PHOTO: YAYOI KUSAMA
Yayoi Kusama – the Japanese artist famed for her use of repetitive patterns, polka dots and bold colours – has announced the opening of her own art museum, in Tokyo, Japan.
The five-storey museum building, designed by architecture firm Kume Sekkei, has already been erected in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, but the purpose of the structure had been kept under wraps.
Two of the storeys will be devoted to exhibiting Kusama’s latest artworks, while one floor will be dedicated to an Infinity Mirrors installation. There will also be archive space, a reading room and a shop.
“This museum is established by Yayoi Kusama and managed by the general incorporated association, Yayoi Kusama Foundation, with the purpose of dissemination and promotion of Kusama’s art throughout the exhibition of her artworks and related materials, to contribute afterwards to the general development of art,” said a museum statement.
“We aim to be the museum where everyone can get familiar with contemporary art; we transmit the message of world peace and human love, which Kusama has been embodying through her artworks, and hold biannual exhibition with her artwork collection along with some lectures,” it said.
Art therapy The artist, who was born in Nagano Prefecture in 1929, has long spoken out about her desire for a peaceful, non-violent planet and also about how art has helped her deal with her mental illnesses and obsessive-compulsive neurosis.
“The world today is in a terrible situation,” Kusama told Bomb magazine. “My desire to use my art to protest against war and man’s inhumanity to man has never diminished. I am always trying to transmit through my work the message that we should all live life in peace and with humanitarian love.”
Since childhood, Kusama has painted numerous dots and “nets”, which she says helps block out dark thoughts in her head.
“I am an obsessional artist. I consider myself a heretic of the art world. I think only of myself when I make my artwork,” Kusama says. “I will continue to create artwork as long as my passion keeps me doing so. I am deeply moved that so many people have been my fans. I have been grappling with art as a therapy for my disease, but I suppose I would not be able to know how people would evaluate my art until after I die. I create art for the healing of all mankind.”
Kusama’s eminently “instagrammable” works – from huge polka-dot pumpkins to seemingly endless expanses of twinkling lights – could be a starting point for imaginative forms of visitor engagement. The museum will likely feature unique photo opportunities and other ways to engage visitors – and their phones – with art.
Named by the Art Newspaper as the world’s most popular artist in 2014, Kusama may also want her visitors to take advantage of their social media networks to infinitely share their experiences – and their selfies.
The Yayoi Kusama Museum is scheduled to open on 1 October, and its debut exhibition is titled Creation is a Solitary Pursuit, Love is What Brings You Closer to Art. Admission costs ¥1000 ($9 €8, £7) and scheduled visits last about 90 minutes.
A major retrospective, Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, is touring North America and is currently on display at Seattle Art Museum in Seattle, Washington.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 3
Interview: Wolfgang Kiessling
We talked to Wolfgang Kiessling, who set
up a small parrot park on Tenerife in the
1970s. Today, Loro Parque and Siam Park
are some of Europe’s top attractions
Promotional feature: Sysco Productions
Sysco Productions is a world-class experience delivery
company, working for global clients in the museum and
heritage, exhibition, and sports and leisure industries
Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow is on at the National Gallery Singapore / PHOTO: PA IMAGES / Then Chih Wey
People view Kusama’s artwork Obliteration Room at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC; the five-storey museum is opening in October / PHOTO: PA IMAGES / JOSHUA ROBERTS
Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC; the five-storey museum is opening in October
COMPANY PROFILES
RMA Ltd
RMA Ltd is a one-stop global company
that can design, build and produce from a
greenfield site upw [more...]
Taylor Made Designs
Founded in 1993, Taylor Made
Designs supply corporate clothing
and brand-enhancing merchandise
to [more...]
Holovis
Holovis is a privately owned company
established in 2004 by CEO Stuart
Hetherington. [more...]
Kusama has been named the world’s most popular artist / PHOTO: YAYOI KUSAMA
Yayoi Kusama – the Japanese artist famed for her use of repetitive patterns, polka dots and bold colours – has announced the opening of her own art museum, in Tokyo, Japan.
The five-storey museum building, designed by architecture firm Kume Sekkei, has already been erected in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, but the purpose of the structure had been kept under wraps.
Two of the storeys will be devoted to exhibiting Kusama’s latest artworks, while one floor will be dedicated to an Infinity Mirrors installation. There will also be archive space, a reading room and a shop.
“This museum is established by Yayoi Kusama and managed by the general incorporated association, Yayoi Kusama Foundation, with the purpose of dissemination and promotion of Kusama’s art throughout the exhibition of her artworks and related materials, to contribute afterwards to the general development of art,” said a museum statement.
“We aim to be the museum where everyone can get familiar with contemporary art; we transmit the message of world peace and human love, which Kusama has been embodying through her artworks, and hold biannual exhibition with her artwork collection along with some lectures,” it said.
Art therapy The artist, who was born in Nagano Prefecture in 1929, has long spoken out about her desire for a peaceful, non-violent planet and also about how art has helped her deal with her mental illnesses and obsessive-compulsive neurosis.
“The world today is in a terrible situation,” Kusama told Bomb magazine. “My desire to use my art to protest against war and man’s inhumanity to man has never diminished. I am always trying to transmit through my work the message that we should all live life in peace and with humanitarian love.”
Since childhood, Kusama has painted numerous dots and “nets”, which she says helps block out dark thoughts in her head.
“I am an obsessional artist. I consider myself a heretic of the art world. I think only of myself when I make my artwork,” Kusama says. “I will continue to create artwork as long as my passion keeps me doing so. I am deeply moved that so many people have been my fans. I have been grappling with art as a therapy for my disease, but I suppose I would not be able to know how people would evaluate my art until after I die. I create art for the healing of all mankind.”
Kusama’s eminently “instagrammable” works – from huge polka-dot pumpkins to seemingly endless expanses of twinkling lights – could be a starting point for imaginative forms of visitor engagement. The museum will likely feature unique photo opportunities and other ways to engage visitors – and their phones – with art.
Named by the Art Newspaper as the world’s most popular artist in 2014, Kusama may also want her visitors to take advantage of their social media networks to infinitely share their experiences – and their selfies.
The Yayoi Kusama Museum is scheduled to open on 1 October, and its debut exhibition is titled Creation is a Solitary Pursuit, Love is What Brings You Closer to Art. Admission costs ¥1000 ($9 €8, £7) and scheduled visits last about 90 minutes.
A major retrospective, Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, is touring North America and is currently on display at Seattle Art Museum in Seattle, Washington.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 3
Interview: Wolfgang Kiessling
We talked to Wolfgang Kiessling, who set
up a small parrot park on Tenerife in the
1970s. Today, Loro Parque and Siam Park
are some of Europe’s top attractions
Promotional feature: Sysco Productions
Sysco Productions is a world-class experience delivery
company, working for global clients in the museum and
heritage, exhibition, and sports and leisure industries
Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow is on at the National Gallery Singapore / PHOTO: PA IMAGES / Then Chih Wey
People view Kusama’s artwork Obliteration Room at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC; the five-storey museum is opening in October / PHOTO: PA IMAGES / JOSHUA ROBERTS
Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC; the five-storey museum is opening in October
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
RMA Ltd RMA Ltd is a one-stop global company
that can design, build and produce from a
greenfield site upw [more...]
Taylor Made Designs Founded in 1993, Taylor Made
Designs supply corporate clothing
and brand-enhancing merchandise
to [more...]
Holovis Holovis is a privately owned company
established in 2004 by CEO Stuart
Hetherington. [more...]
