Art Week Tokyo’s Atsuko Ninagawa wants to connect the city’s scattered art scene

MARIKO MORI, Wave UFO, 1999–2002. Brainwave interface, vision dome, projector, computer system, fiberglass, Technogel, acrylic, carbon fiber, aluminum, and magnesium. Installation view, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, 2003. | RICHARD LEAROYD/ COURTESY ART WEEK TOKYO

Nov 4, 2026

Atsuko Ninagawa, co-founder of Art Week Tokyo, which starts today, says the Japanese capital is “famous for being a city without a center.”

The fifth edition of the event, running through Nov. 8, reflects that character, unfolding across 56 venues, from museums and galleries to less conventional spaces such as bars, embassies and universities.

That decentralized approach also informs this year’s AWT Focus, the event’s own curatorial program. Previously presented as a single exhibition, it has expanded into 10 curator-led projects at participating venues such as SCAI The Bathhouse and Misako & Rosen.

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