Takashi Murakami announced as special guest speaker at the V&A South Kensington as part of Japan Cultural Expo 2.0

Japan Cultural Expo 2.0 is delighted to announce that world-renowned contemporary artist Takashi Murakami will be in conversation with Sam Thorne, Director General & CEO of Japan House London, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington on 8 December 2024, in his first public event in the UK since 2018.

The talk forms part of Japan Cultural Expo 2.0, an initiative of the government of Japan to promote Japanese arts and culture around the world. The event will be hosted by and organised in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world’s leading museum for art, design and performance with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity, spanning 5000 years of human creativity.

Best known for his instantly recognisable paintings, sculptures, fashion collaborations and films populated with motifs and characters of his own creation, Murakami is recognised for his mix of fine art and commercial media. His practice ingeniously combines the past and future of Japanese art by using traditional techniques and motifs like ukiyo-e and byōbu-e (Japanese folding screen paintings), as well as references to contemporary Japanese pop culture including anime.

Drawing inspiration from Japan Cultural Expo 2.0’s concept The Beauty and Spirit of Japan, this event will delve into the country’s rich arts, history and culture, while exploring Murakami’s key works and the enduring appeal of Japanese art and how it informs his practice. As part of the wide-ranging Japan Cultural Expo 2.0 initiative, which encourages global audiences to engage with Japan's vibrant cultural landscape through a cultural programme including exhibitions and talks, this event offers a unique opportunity to appreciate the depth and beauty of Japanese tradition.

Tickets will be on sale from 16 October and available to book through the V&A’s website via the following links:
In person: https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/VLepyy1xAo/takashi-murakami
Livestream: https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/DP0rXNdp9k/takashi-murakami-livestream

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Listings information:
Takashi Murakami in Conversation
Sunday, 8 December 2024
4 - 5pm followed by a drinks reception
V&A South Kensington
General - Onsite: £18.00
General Under 26 - Onsite: £15.00
Online livestream: £6.00
vam.ac.uk

Press pack linked here（https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ResTajiW4drWdUVbYiIYim5kwSQ5cNFf）

For further information please contact:
Irene Ruiz Garrido | irene.ruiz.garrido@flint-culture.com | +44 744 733 8887

About Japan Cultural Expo
The Japan Cultural Expo (JCE) is an initiative of the Japanese government to promote Japanese arts and culture worldwide. Through a wide array of cultural programmes, including exhibitions, festivals, talks and performing arts initiatives, JCE’s mission is to encourage people from around the world to discover the richness of Japanese culture.
Led by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Japan Arts Council, it is a collaborative, inter-agency project that draws on the cooperation of numerous public and private sector partners.
The Japan Cultural Expo serves as an information hub for people to experience Japanese arts and access community culture.

About Takashi Murakami
Born in Tokyo in 1962, Murakami became the first student to earn a PhD in Nihonga from the Tokyo University of Fine Arts in 1993. In 2000, he proposed Superflat, a concept/theory of contemporary visual culture that connects traditional Japanese art with the flatness of anime and manga while also referring to the state of Japanese society.
His interdisciplinary practice draws inspiration from traditional Japanese painting including artists such as Soga Shōhaku and Ogata Kōrin and, in 2012, he created a 100-metre-long painting, “The 500 Arhats". In 2024, he held “Takashi Murakami Mononoke Kyoto”, his first solo exhibition in Japan in eight years, at Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, presenting new works based on historical Japanese art.

About Sam Thorne
Sam Thorne is Director General & CEO of Japan House London. He is a curator and writer committed to education, experimentation and exchange. As a museum director, Sam was most recently director of Nottingham Contemporary, where he oversaw more than 30 exhibitions; prior to that he was artistic director of Tate St Ives　and, he was associate editor of frieze magazine, was a co-founder of Open School East, a free-to-attend independent studies programme, and is the author of the book School (2017). Sam has taught and lectured widely at universities and art schools, and written numerous catalogue essays and articles. He grew up visiting Japan regularly with his Japanese-speaking mother.