If you need a reason to re-explore art culture in Tokyo, Roppongi could be yours
Written by Hafsa Rifki
You need a definite purpose to go to Roppongi. That’s what I thought about the area for the late nine months. As a result, I ended up going there four times only, to attend a meeting or specific exhibitions. Roppongi seemed to me a far area whereas, in fact, it’s two stations away from Mita, where I used to take daily my Japanese and international classes at Keio University. This feeling of remoteness is definitely not due to geographical distance. Roppongi did not feel a “friendly” place to me. I had no landmarks there. The atmosphere solennelle by day did not lend to strolling around. At night, the practice of space was not recommended, for unexplained reasons, by my Japanese friends.
Since I came to Japan, I didn’t take part of much talks, workshops or exhibitions. The informations were displayed in Japanese only. Since language support and interpretation were rarely provided, I avoided this kind of activities where I felt very uncomfortable.
During the Cultural Communicator Workshop 2018 organized by Keio University Art Center, I was happily surprised by the efficiency of the multilingual communication there. We were invited to communicate in the language we were most comfortable in. Mutual understanding was facilitated by tutors providing an instant translation. Through this experience, I was convinced by the power of creative communication in overcoming language barrier and decided to join the workshop organized by the Art Center in collaboration with Roppongi Art Night 2019. During the lectures and workshops, I was introduced to practical tools and skills to approach the art in a different way using system and design thinking. Talks about contemporary art and archives from artists, archivists and curators unfolded new layers of understanding by explaining behind the scenes of contemporary art in general and dug into some specific exhibitions. During these talks and workshop sessions, the language which used to be a problem became a part of the artistic process since the Keio Art Center’s team deployed huge efforts and creativity for the translation. When I couldn’t understand some subtle details, I could get the “feeling” by focusing on facial expressions, tone of the speaker’s voice and the vibes resonating in the room.
Equipped with these new skills and comprehensive layers of understanding, I was ready to enjoy my night cruising at Roppongi Art Night 2019. I teamed with my Italian friend to plan our visit meticulously. At 5.00 PM we were at the “Speakeasy at Roppongi Art Night 2019” guidance talk in the North Tower of Roppongi Hills. The team there was friendly and multi-lingual, but the pieces of information provided were too general and more touristy. It was probably due to the intensive training and preparation we received during the seminars with Roppongi Art Night’s Team. My friend and I were looking for tips and specific informations to make the most of our cruising and spend our art night out of the conventional track.
We met with Homma-san at the “Rainbow in the Darkness” installation where we marked our passage by engraving #IAMATRAN (short for “I am at Roppongi Art Night”). This point marked the official start of our Night cruising. Around 6.00 PM, we headed to the “Green and Park”. Families, kids and couples were having a picnic, chatting and enjoying the good weather. I closed my eyes and felt the relaxed atmosphere. I enjoyed hearing kids playing, people chatting and birds singing. It reminded me of my summer vacations in Europe.
Around 6.30 PM we went to the Kigaeru Park for the Roppongi Pajama Night exhibition. The clothes display had a surprising effect. It brought a stamp of every day’s “normal” life to Roppongi. The artist, Yoshinari Nishio is exploring the relationship between how we dress and the way we communicate.We wanted to watch the fashion show projection, but it was still early. Since it was outdoors, we couldn’t see much.
Next on our schedule was the architecture guided tour to explore the National Art Center of Tokyo. On our way, we could saw "Roly Poly" and "Gather Together" installations made by Choi Jeong Hwa, the main artist of the event. The artworks were very colorful bringing beauty in the plastic material usually considered ugly.
Later on we stopped by the “Fruit Tree” and “Life, life” an installation made out of light balloons which inspired us joy, enchantment and lightness. At our passage, the artist Choi Jeong Hwa was present on site giving advice for the replacement of the fading balloons. “Life,life” installation was evolving lively even during the exhibition, and the careful presence of the artist added a layer of meaningful life to it.
We couldn’t take part in the architecture tour at the National Art Center, because we didn’t have the required prior online registration. Maybe we’ve lost that information in translation,… This said, we strolled around the museum and enjoyed the interesting architecture by ourselves while having our snacks. At that moment, we could hear the strong sound of an helicopter taking off. Someone said it was President Donald Trump who was residing in the area during that period. This could explain the heavy security we’ve noticed around.
On our way to the Tokyo Midtown area, we stopped by, for the second time, at the “Tracing Memory” installation. At that moment, the projection was clearer since the night was deeper.
Our next stop was a blowing mind experience. What if you could visit the same exhibition, at least, twice and enjoy it each time as if it was your first time? The exhibition "information or inspiration?" at the Suntory Museum of Art invited us to stimulate both our intuitive and reflective brains by proposing two pathways for the exhibition. At the end of this experience, we learned as much about Japanese aesthetics as we learned about our own way of BEing.
This brought me to reflect about my own way of enjoying art and culture in general. If I didn’t have to bring a friend as part of my night cruising “homework”, my first thought would have been to do a large part of my cruising by myself to follow meticulously my cruising night plan, enjoy my personal interests, read and spend as much time as I needed where I wanted during the Roppongi Art Night. During the night cruising with my friend, I figured out how enlightening, entertaining and different it could be to exchange our mutual experiences, talk and discuss about art especially when not sharing the same point of view and cultural background. My friend, who was used to Venice Biennale, brought me a valuable comparative insight. He thought that the comparison with the Biennale holds especially because of the scale of the exhibition and the international vibes of the event. Naturally it is very different since both events are taking place in “absurd places, positively, of course!”. The Roppongi Art Night loses charm because most of the museum exhibitions are not taylormade, “maybe because it is not even the aim of the event”. In general, the ability to walk around, jumping in and out of art in an international environment gave him the same vibes, the temperature and the humidity helped too. Other friends from Europe we met later by an incredible coincidence, when we think about the crowd that night, brought to us the same insight.
We saved Mori Art Museum for last to enjoy the museum by night, which is in itself a unique experience, and to enjoy the current exhibitions and the astonishing vue of Minato-ku area by night. Amazed by the view, we lost track of time, till one of us pointed out Tokyo Tower, which brought us back to Tokyo, where train hours are limited, and last trains are quite early even during the weekends and special events.
We had to rush for our last train. Before we engaged on the stairs for the basement floor, out of nowhere, I spotted a huge red colour ball . This vision brought me back to my summer in Chicago about four years ago, where I saw for the first time this same red ball. A reminder from the Roppongi Art Night told us that we were far away from exhausting all the creative and surprising artworks displayed.
We got our last train, we were squeezed, the train was packed as if it were the morning rush hour. We were back to the everyday reality of Tokyo. During the final walk from the station to our dorm, we didn’t talk much. Filled with our night cruising, we could almost see stars in Tokyo’s night sky. Or was it only the beginning of our day dream?
Hafsa was born and raised in Morocco, in the Atlantic city of Casablanca. Later she moved to the capital Rabat where she got her architecture degree and worked as an exhibition designer. Currently she is involved in education, art and cultural projects while conducting her PhD research in Community Design at Keio University, Tokyo. Spending her week between three of Keio University’s campuses, she enjoys particularly Mita campus located in Minato Ward where she can explore traditional Japanese culture in an international environment.
