Tokyo Detroit Berlin

Ever since it opened in 2001, Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) has continued to collaborate with international artists, curators, arts centers, and cultural organizations to produce exhibitions and pioneer related programs. TOKAS Project, which began in 2018, aims to shine a contemplative light on the arts, society, and other themes from multicultural perspectives.

In its third iteration, TOKAS Project Vol. 3 will feature collaboration with artist and XYZcollective director COBRA to introduce the art community of today in Tokyo, Detroit, and Berlin via the exhibition “Tokyo Detroit Berlin.”

Instead of art museums and other such public institutions, the exhibition will focus on independent international exchange within the art community via art spaces, artist run spaces, etc. and will introduce the activities of each featured space at the TOKAS Hongo venue.

The exhibition will be held in collaboration with COBRA, who participated in “Tokyo Wonder Site (now TOKAS) Residency program 2010” and then opened the XYZcollective artist-run space in Tokyo after experiencing a different kind of art community while abroad.

The exhibition will paint a picture of the art community of today in Tokyo, Detroit, and Berlin by featuring art spaces: XYZcollective, 4649, What Pipeline, and Schiefe Zähne from each city and their selected artists. The exhibition will facilitate exchange and discussion in an attempt to spur new future developments.


Galleries
Schiefe Zähne (Berlin) | Director: Hannes Schmidt
Schiefe Zähne is an art space located on the ground level of a former workshop behind a residential building in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin.
Artists: Lukas Quietzsch, Richard Sides, Philipp Simon, Tom Humphreys, Hélène Fauquet, Ariane Müller, Jonas Lipps, Sophie Reinhold

What Pipeline (Detroit) | Directors: Daniel Sperry, Alivia Zivich
What Pipeline is an artist-run gallery, founded in Detroit in 2013, and has presented artists and collectives both in the United States and overseas.
Artists: Mary Ann Aitken, Michael E. Smith, Quintessa Matranga

XYZcollective (Tokyo) | Directors: COBRA, Miyagi Futoshi
In 2011, three directors began operating the XYZcollective artist-run space in a warehouse they remodeled in Setagaya, Tokyo. The Space is now based in Sugamo, Tokyo. The collective has been actively building an international network.
Artists: Bas Jan Ader, Trevor Shimizu, Nakano Koji, Hori Nanami, Chadwick Rantanen, COBRA

4649 (Tokyo) | Directors: Kobayashi Yuhei, Shimizu Shogo, and Takamizawa Yuu
4649 is a curatorial project by three directors. In addition to introducing the international art scene via exhibitions, the project is also working to exhibit young artists from Tokyo at art fairs and galleries overseas.
Artists: Benjamin Asam Kellogg, Rafael Delacruz, Murata Fuyumi

Co-planner
COBRA
Born in Chiba in 1981. Lives and works in Tokyo. Graduated with BA in Craft from Tama Art University in 2005. COBRA participated in the TWS Residency program in 2010, spending three months in Melbourne. In 2011, he opened the XYZcollective artist-run space and acts as representative director. Absurd events are the subject matter of the artist’s humorous video creations. Recent exhibitions: life and limbs at Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York, 2019, The Museum at Fig, Tokyo, 2019, COBRA SOLO SHOW at For Seasons, Zurich, 2019. 

Organizer: Tokyo Arts and Space (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Cooperation: MISAKO&ROSEN, Meliksetian | Briggs