From the mid-19th century on, European painters decamped from the big cities and founded artists’ colonies in the countryside. A group of Flemish artists settled in the rural village of Sint-Martens-Latem near Ghent, establishing a school based on close communication with the natural environment and local farmers. “Lights of Flanders” presents some 90 canvasses by [...]

Hungarian star Alina Cojocaru joins the Tokyo Ballet to reprise the role that won her the position of principal with England’s Royal Ballet Company in 2001. Cojocaru wowed Tokyo audiences with her turn in Giselle in 2006, and this time returns with fellow Royal Ballet principal Johan Kobborg as her lover, Duke Albrecht. The performance [...]

Following the debut of his first work in English at last fall’s Festival/Tokyo, emerging playwright Shu Matsui presents a new piece to be performed with English subtitles. Where 2009’s Ano Hito no Sekai (“That Man’s World”) looked at the concepts of “self” and “other” through the portrayal of a cult religion, Jiman no Musuko (“Favorite [...]

American songstress Helen Morrison is something of a veteran on the Tokyo scene. The Milwaukee native first came here in the late ’90s as the producer of Las Vegas-style revues, and her credits include TV commercials and singing opera in the 2009 Japanese film Pride. Catch her as she performs a series of gigs around [...]

The organizers of this year’s Tokyo Game Show have made a number of adjustments to keep the event bustling amid the stagnant economy. Among them are an international cosplay competition and a videogame tournament, both taking place during the final two days of the show, which are open to the general public. The 1,400-plus booths [...]

Long-running minimal techno party Real Grooves looks at a different side of dance music with a new deep house event. The kickoff night at Air will be anchored by a set from Berlin-based American producer Stewart Walker, who eschews DJing in favor of “live” mixes created on the fly with only samplers and a mixer. [...]

The seventh LBFF comes to Tokyo and Yokohama with 15 new releases. Among the films sure to pique interest is Revolucion, an omnibus meditation by ten Mexican directors on the subject of the country’s 1910 revolution. Featuring contributions by the likes of Diego Luna—who will travel to Tokyo for the festival—the film was widely praised [...]

The last of eight exhibitions commemorating the grand reopening of the Nezu Museum offers a look into the origins of its storied collection. The museum was founded by industrialist Kaichiro Nezu, and its holdings are centered on his tea ceremony utensils, Buddhist artworks and ancient Chinese bronzes. Also on display at this exhibition are numerous [...]

When Karl Hyde isn’t bringing down dancefloors as part of UK rave stalwarts Underworld, he’s busy churning out large-scale abstract paintings. The latest in a long line of cross-genre artists, Hyde has actually been active in visual arts for years as part of Underworld’s design collective, Tomato. “What’s Going on in Your Head When You’re [...]

Function has always trumped form in Japanese architecture, but young talents are now creating spaces freed of purely practical demands. The new generation employs futuristic materials in a way that restores Japanese architecture’s traditional respect for nature. Intended to provoke debate about the future of Tokyo, this exhibition is the brainchild of emerging architect Sou [...]

One of the luxuries of living in Tokyo is having the ancient National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties of Kyoto and Nara come for frequent visits. A case in point is this show at the Mitsui Memorial Museum in Nihombashi, which presents dozens of Buddhist statues and craftworks from historical temples like Todai-ji and Horyu-ji. [...]

If the new arena show Walking with Dinosaurs isn’t your thing, just hop on an elevator to the top of Roppongi Hills and check out this “dinosaur museum in the skies.” 23 species of the “terrible lizards” are recreated on a stage 250 meters above Tokyo. Many hail from Argentina’s Ischigualasto Provincial Park, including the [...]

A visit to Hakone is always worthwhile, but a new exhibition of abstract paintings by a leading local artist offers yet another reason to trek out to the resort area. Tomoyuki Shimadate is best known for sending a 20kg sculpture to the Royal Scottish Academy at a personal cost of £1,000—and then winning a prize [...]

Asia, North America and Europe all have numerous “starchitects,” but what about Africa? Meet David Adjaye, the Ghanaian architect now putting his stamp on the world’s metropolises with buildings of exuberant shape and color. Japan gets its first close look at Adjaye via a new exhibit, “Output,” opening this week in Nogizaka. Since launching his [...]

Best known these days for Mafioso and uncollected garbage, the southern Italian capital of Naples was, in its heyday, one of the birthplaces of the Baroque. “Masterpieces from the Museum of Capodimonte” exhibits 16th- and 17th-century works commissioned by the ruling Farnese family. Approximately 80 paintings, sculptures, decorative artworks and drawings come to Japan from [...]

NTT’s media museum has lacked a full schedule of exhibitions since the bottom fell out of the telecoms bubble a few years back, but the ongoing—and free—“Open Space” installation series has plenty of interactive features to keep visitors busy. The 2010 edition offers several new attractions, including Morel’s Panorama by veteran media-artist Masaki Fujihata. The [...]