Roppongi Crossing is a series of co-curated exhibitions staged every three years by the Mori Art Museum. First launched in 2004 to provide a snapshot of the contemporary Japanese art scene at a particular point in time, this seventh edition in the series showcases works by 22 Japanese artists (all born between the 1940s and 1990s) and artist groups, in an exciting cross section of both young and promising artists as well as internationally established veterans.

As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, our lives have changed dramatically. These changes have revealed many hitherto hard-to-see, or even hidden, aspects of Japanese society, prompting us to revisit and reconsider familiar elements of our everyday environments previously taken for granted. They have also shone a light on the presence and diversity of those around us also living through these tumultuous times. With people once more on the move and expectations of new cultural creativity growing, we are reminded of the fact that various ethnic groups live in Japan and that it is a country whose history and culture is manifold. What kind of future can we now imagine and build together?

The subtitle of Roppongi Crossing 2022, “Coming & Going,” reacknowledges that travel in and out of Japan and repeated interactions with other cultures throughout Japan’s complex history have indeed made the country a place where a wide variety of people and cultures now coexist. It also conveys a desire for those comings and goings to resume after the pandemic brought them to a halt.

We take a fresh and wider look at Japan’s contemporary art and creative scene, and invite visitors to join us in pondering the imponderable nature of tomorrow.