Art Festivals & Events

The National Art Center, Tokyo launched the NACT View series, a project utilizing the Center’s public area in 2022. Notable for its spectacular impact, the space was designed down to the smallest detail by the architect Kurokawa Kisho. Emerging and mid-career artists, designers, architects, and filmmakers will be invited to present a variety of contemporary works in the space, which resembles a public plaza where many visitors pass through or linger and enjoy leisure time.
Atsushi Watanabe (b. 1978) deals with issues related to hikikomori (a condition he has experienced personally) and strives to create collaborations with those who are currently suffering from the condition, while engaging directly with society as an activist. In this, the third edition of the NACT View series, he presents an installation and video works related to the I Hate Free Hugs project he began in 2021.

Since 2022, the National Art Center, Tokyo has initiated a new series of small-scale projects titled "NACT View" that utilize the Center's public spaces.

The third installment features an installation and video works related to the ongoing project "I Hate Free Hugs," led by activist Atsushi Watanabe (b. 1978). Watanabe, himself a former hikikomori (social recluse), focuses on issues related to social withdrawal and collaborates with individuals who have shared the experience. His project, which began in 2021, aims to have a direct impact on society.
The works of Watanabe's (I'm here project) resonate with those who feel isolated, bringing awareness to the presence of the invisible and provoking thoughts about the distant. These works also provide an opportunity for the Center visitors to engage with those who find it difficult to be present in person.

*In 2018, Watanabe launched the "I'm here project," in which he made collaborative works with people who were suffering from hikikomori or feelings of isolation. For this work, created with a group of people who responded to Watanabe’s public call for participants, he used the name "Atsushi Watanabe (I'm here project)."

The artist’s latest installation and video works create a complex exhibition that makes the most of the Center's public spaces

In this exhibition, Watanabe presents an installation and video works as part of the I Hate Free Hugs project he began in 2021. These pieces are being shown for the first time in NACT’s public spaces.

A light work expressing the existence of those who are not here will also be shown along with the new pieces

Also on display will be a work made up of a spherical light, which can be operated by remote control by those who find it difficult to visit the exihibition, because they are currently dealing with hikikomori. This work creates an exhibition that remains unfinished, while also transcending the physical constraints of the space.