Curator Shai Ohayon is pleased to announce the launch of the curatorial project ArtGig in Tokyo, a series of art happenings in public places. The themed events will commence with a sex themed art happening featuring internationally renowned artists such as Yoko Ono, Makoto Aida, Elmgreen & Dragset, ChimPom and Mario A., among other artists. The event, entitled: “Dirty, dirty! Sex, sex!” will be presented at Bar Exit(バー・イグジット)in Shinjuku Ni-chome. “Ni-chome” has a long-standing association with the gay scene of Tokyo and considered by many locals as a site of sexual HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promiscuity" promiscuity and debauchery. We aim to present some 15 local and international artists along with music and performance art pieces and transform the entire club into an improvised art gallery. Artworks will include pieces of many disciplines and site-specific installations, using the walls, the actual bar, toilets, lockers, changing room and stage. Artists are asked to present works that reflect their practice and that deals directly with their notion or understanding of the theme. Attendance to the event is free-of-charge to the public and visitors will be encouraged to explore the space, engage with the artworks and to enjoy the array of performances that will be featured as part of the event. In addition, visitors will be invited also to participate in a raffle that will close the event, with gifts from the Mori Museum, Nadiff, MOMA Gift Shop, Wut Berlin, Tokyo Art Beat and more.
Following the recent events in Japan, ArtGigTokyo will also hold a silent auction, featuring works by some of the contributing artists. The money that we raise will support relief efforts in Tohoku.
ArtGigTokyo1: “Dirty, Dirty! Sex, sex!” 8 May 2011, 15:00 ~ 03:00 Bar Exit, 2-12-16 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 160-0022 www.artgigtokyo.com
Artists: Yoko Ono, ChimPom, Jack McLean, Beatriz Inglessis, Frederic Aranda, Nogi Sumiko, Elmgreen & Dragset, Robert Waters, Makoto Aida, Benjamin Skepper, Mario A, Vivienne Sato, Louise Bak
Performance art: Jack McLean, Nogi Sumiko, Vivienne Sato, Lauren Levitt, Louise Bak
Stage performances: Metro-Ongen, Club Future Future, Cotton Bale, Mistress Maya
DJs: Audrey Fondecave Tsujimura, Vivienne Sato
About ArtGig: Shai Ohayon says about the series: “ArtGig is a curatorial project that aims to support and extend the development of contemporary art and to bring art back to the public realm. I developed the project originally in Toronto Canada, where I have curated and produced nine shows under the titled ArtGig between April 1997 and August 2000. The events showcased both site-specific installations and a wide variety of interdisciplinary art, aspiring to create a platform for emerging and established artists to present works outside of the gallery space. The events were always free-of-charge to visitors to encourage the public to interact with art. Typically, I curated the events at clubs and bars that have been transformed for the duration of the events into makeshift “galleries”. These events included live performances and the commission of new works of many disciplines, from live opera and ballet to a fashion show and performance art pieces, all original and commissioned specifically for ArtGig. This series of events is now renowned in Toronto for helping to launch some international careers and for helping to develop a vibrant art scene in Toronto.
Upon my relocation to Tokyo over a year ago and my current involvement in the Tokyo art scene as an international curator, I was struck by the limited array of public art events and ventures and by the inadequate opportunities local artists have to present new contemporary works. This discovery motivated me to re-launch ArtGig in Tokyo to help to facilitate a healthier art scene in the city – both to promote art to new audiences that usually have little opportunity to engage with contemporary art; and to give artists a new platform to present pieces. While as an art curator and art lover I frequent galleries, I am also aware that many people who are not as involved with art often find galleries intimidating and alienating. This is why I intend to show professional art in environments that are less formal and perhaps more playful. I hope that this effort will assist people, who previously had very little interest in art, to develop a new relationship with current practices and to demystify contemporary art.
While aiming to open the art scene up and to make contemporary art more public and accessible, ArtGigTokyo also aims to mix a range of disciplines and artists from different stages of their careers – established, mid-ranged and emerging artists exhibiting side-by-side to help support new artists. This, I believe, will strengthen the art community of Tokyo and will help to introduce new local artists to the international art scene.
ArtGigTokyo, like the sister project in Toronto, will be a series of events spread over a number of years. Each event will be themed and include an array of relevant interdisciplinary artists who would be asked to exhibit old or new pieces – bespoke or accustomed – in a one day art happening. The events also will include music performances, performance art, video/film pieces and sometimes commissioned performances of other artistic disciplines, such as ballet, opera, theatre etc. The venues selected to host each one of the events are strongly linked to the theme of each happening to reinforce a relation. The theme for the first one is “sex” and is taking place at Bar Exit in Shinjuku Ni-chome. Future ArtGigs that are in the planning include a “death” themed event at a cemetery, “transportation” at a train station and “ghosts” at an abandoned building.”