Nobuo Uchida | The Past and Future of Japan's Touring Art Exhibitions [Part 1]
An introductory article outlining the history, current state, challenges, and prospects of Japan's touring art exhibitions.Summary
The article traces the origins of Japan’s touring exhibitions from the 1898 Japanese Art Institute’s regional tours, through wartime government‑sponsored shows and media‑led exhibitions, to the establishment and evolution of the Art Museum Liaison Council (BML). It details BML’s role in coordinating public museums, securing funding, and providing publicity, noting a peak of 27 new touring shows in 1997. The COVID‑19 pandemic led to a sharp decline in new exhibitions, prompting BML to suspend its secretariat in 2022 and restructure its organization to include non‑public museums. The piece highlights the benefits of touring shows—facilitating multi‑museum collaboration and scholarly research—while addressing challenges such as media‑driven audience focus, complex budget management, and reduced curator autonomy. It concludes by suggesting future directions, including alternative networks and more autonomous museum collaboration.
(Source：artscape)