Arts Towada Press Release December, 2013

Towada Art Center 5th Anniversary Exhibition vol.3 + Ryue Nishizawa SANAA February 1, 2014 (Sat) − March 30, 2014 (Sun)

Towada Art Center is pleased to announce the launch of the “Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa SANAA Exhibition”. The art museum was designed by Ryue Nishizawa, one of the leading architects in Japan today, and will be celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. The architecture of Towada Art Center reflects the museum’s concepts of both “a museum open to Towada city” and “an open space for providing new experiences through art”. The building functions as a creative hub in the area.

This upcoming show will introduce activities of SANAA organized by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, and their respective works. The exhibition will present roughly forty models, drawings and films. It will primarily revolve around the museum buildings which the architects have designed all over the world. The exhibits will be curated to suggest both how architecture should be in a new era and how it should relate to its surrounding community.

Statement from Ryue Nishizawa

The SANAA exhibition will be held as part of the Towada Art Center’s fifth anniversary project and the Office of Ryue Nishizawa is honored to design the space composition for the show. We have considered the spatial individuality of the art center and have decided to draw upon its resting place and corridors, as well as its exhibition rooms. The exhibits will include Sejima and Nishizawa’s personal works as well as SANAA’s projects, with the aim of expressing the expansion of SANAA’s architectural world in mind. The format of the displays will be simple: models, plans, sketches, and films. All of these are tools which architects use for work on a daily basis and are the most basic language for architectural expression. By making use of these fundamental materials, we hope to show both how architects think and how imagination develops in an architecturally creative working environment.

Exhibition：Period February 1, 2014 (Sat) − March 30, 2014 (Sun) Venue：Towada Art Center Opening hours：From 9:00 to 17:00 (Last admittance: 30 minutes before closing) Closed：every Monday, except when the day of the week falls on national holidays. In this case, Towada Art Center will be closed the following day. Admission fees：900 Yen for adults *Free entry to permanent exhibition for exhibition ticket holders. 800 Yen per visitor for parties of 20 people or over, and free for high school students and below. Space composition：Ryue Nishizawa Organizer：Towada Art Center

SANAA In 1995, Kazuyo Sejima (born in 1956) and Ryue Nishizawa (born in 1966) founded SANAA, the architecture studio that has designed innovative buildings in Japan and around the world. Examples of their, groundbreaking work include, among others, the in Lausanne, Switzerland; the Toledo Museum of Art's Glass Pavilion in Toledo, Ohio; the of Contemporary Art in New York, NY: the Serpentine Pavilion in London; the Christian Dior Building in Omotesando in Tokyo; and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa. The latter won the Golden Lion in 2004 for the most significant work in the Ninth International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. Born in Japan’s prefecture of Ibaraki (northeast of Tokyo), Kazuyo Sejima received a degree in architecture at the Japan Women's University. Upon completion of her studies, she began working in the office of architect . In 1987, she opened her own studio in Tokyo, and in 1992, she was named the Japan Institute of Architects’ Young Architect of the Year in Japan. Kazuyo Sejima has taught at Princeton University, the Polytechnique de Lausanne, Tama Art University, and Keio University. Ryue Nishizawa hails from the (just south of Tokyo), where he graduated from Yokohama National University with a master’s degree in architecture in 1990. He established the office Ryue Nishizawa in 1997, and he holds a professorship at Yokohama National University. Together, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa were awarded the Arnold Brunner Memorial Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2002, a design prize from the Architectural Institute of Japan in 2006, and the Kunstpreis Berlin of 2007 from the Berlin Academy of Arts. In addition, they have presented their work throughout the and Europe in exhibitions and as visiting lecturers at numerous prestigious universities.

Inquiries Towada Art Center Toyokawa / Nii 10-9, Nishi-Nibancho, Towada-shi, Aomori, JAPAN 034-0082 Tel. 0176-20-1127 Fax. 0176-20-1138 [email protected] www.towadaartcenter.com Arts Towada Press Release December, 2013

[ Event information ]

A talk session by Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA

The speakers will talk about the way they think during the design process and introduce their works. After the session, we will hold an opening reception for the exhibition.

Speakers：Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa Date：February 1, 2014 (Sun) 14:00-15:30（Doors open at 13:30） Venue：Community space at Towada Art Center Capacity：30（Booking recommended. For booking please contact Towada Art Center） Exhibition ticket required (Free for high school students and under)

A talk session by Ryue Nishizawa and Yoshihide Otomo

Known for “The Little Concert in The Blue Woods”, musician Yoshihide Otomo will be invited to a talk session with Ryue Nishizawa. They will talk about the expanding realm of contemporary art from their respective points of views as an architect and a musician, drawing upon slides and films.

Speakers：Ryue Nishizawa and Yoshihide Otomo Date：February 16, 2014 (Sun) 14:30-16:00 (Doors open at 14:00) Venue：Café at Towada Art Center Capacity：30（Booking recommended. For booking please contact Towada Art Center） Exhibition ticket required (Free for high school students and under)

YOSHIHIDE OTOMO Special Live in TOWADA

Towada Art Center will become a concert venue for one day only. Making full use of the museum’s acoustics, which were designed by Ryue Nishizawa, Yoshihide Otomo will invite the audience into his world of music.

Performed by：Yoshihide Otomo Date：February 16, 2014 (Sun) 17:30-19:00（Doors open at 17:00） Venue：Café at Towada Art Center Capacity：30（Booking required） Admission：￥2000（One free drink）

Yoshihide Otomo Musician/Guitarist/Turn Table player/Composer/Producer. Born in 1959 in Yokohama, Japan. He spent his teenage years in Fukushima, in the Tohoku area. He creates independently, improvising music, from pieces like noise to popular music, and his area of activity is all around the globe. Otomo has been making video tracks for many movie contents as film music composer, and the number count up to over 70 pieces. In the recent years, Otomo has been collaborating with many people under the name of “Ensembles,” producing music pieces for showcasing or unique style concerts. He has also been engaged in music workshops for children with disability, and projects that welcome people to join in. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, he launched Project FUKUSHIMA! together with Michiro Endo and Ryoichi Wago. In 2012, he won the Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts. Currently, he is very busy with the very popular NHK drama “Amachan” ’s opening theme.

ARCHITECTURE + ART + DANCE

International dancer Masaharu Imazu will give a dance performance. He has organized a workshop for adults and children under the concept of “dancing with the museum”.

Instructor：Masaharu Imazu（Dancer, Gyrokinesis trainer） Date：Dance Performance March 29, 2014 (Sat) 15:00-16:00 Workshop March 30, 2014 (Sun) 13:00-14:30/15:00-16:30 For elementary school student and upper Capacity：15 (Booking required. Please contact Towada Art Center for further informarion） Exhibition ticket required (Free for high school students and under)

Inquiries Towada Art Center Toyokawa / Nii 10-9, Nishi-Nibancho, Towada-shi, Aomori, JAPAN 034-0082 Tel. 0176-20-1127 Fax. 0176-20-1138 [email protected] www.towadaartcenter.com