Mori Art Museum

The Mori Art Museum (森美術館, Mori Bijutsukan) is a contemporary art museum located in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Tokyo, Japan. Founded by real estate developer Minoru Mori and opened on 18 October 2003, it occupies the top two floors of a 54-storey skyscraper in the Roppongi Hills mega-complex, 250 metres above sea level. Operating under the motto "Art + Life," the museum has established itself as one of Tokyo's most visited cultural institutions, attracting 13.5 million visitors by 2018, and is distinguished by its late opening hours and programming aimed at diverse audiences from children to international visitors.

Minoru Mori, president of the Mori real estate company, conceived the museum as part of his 17-year Roppongi Hills development project, which sought to integrate work, leisure, and living spaces into a single metropolitan complex. He envisioned this as a step toward a utopia where shortened commuting times would allow more time for family, community, and cultural pursuits. The museum embodied his belief that "culture shapes a city's identity." David Elliott, an Englishman, became the first director from 2003 to 2006, reportedly the first foreigner to hold such a position in Japan. He was succeeded by Fumio Nanjo (2006-2019), and then by chief curator Mami Kataoka at the end of 2019. Minoru Mori died in March 2012. In 2015, three years after his death, the museum underwent major renovations and revised its mission statement to reflect the expansion of the global art scene. New programming series were introduced at this time: MAM Collection, MAM Screen, and MAM Research. The museum also participates in the "Roppongi Art Triangle" alongside the National Art Center, Tokyo and the Suntory Museum of Art.

The museum's primary focus is large-scale international exhibitions of contemporary art, with particular attention to art from Japan and the wider Asia Pacific region. Its programming encompasses not only contemporary art but also photography, design, fashion, and architecture. Through its "MAM Project," the institution invites young artists from around the world to exhibit and supports their development. The museum's approach centres on presenting modern art at an international level with Asia at its core, seeking to merge lifestyle and art. While some sources describe a permanent collection of art from Japan and the Asia Pacific region, others note that the museum does not maintain a traditional permanent collection in the conventional sense, instead organising temporary exhibitions of contemporary works.

Since opening in 2003, the Mori Art Museum has held exhibitions featuring internationally renowned artists including Yayoi Kusama, Ai Weiwei, Bill Viola, Cao Fei, Anish Kapoor, and Jeff Koons. Its inaugural major exhibition, "Happiness: A Survival Guide for Art and Life," was co-curated by Pier Luigi Tazzi loft and David Elliott, combining contemporary installation, sculpture, and painting with classic Asian art primarily from Japan and China. In 2004, the museum collaborated with the Museum of Modern Art, New York on "Roppongi Crossing: New Visions in Japanese Art 2004," exploring contemporary East Asian art, architecture, and design. In 2017, it partnered with the National Art Center, Tokyo to present "Sunshower: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia, 1980s to Now," billed as the largest-ever exhibition of contemporary Southeast Asian art, comprising around 190 works by eighty-six artists across both venues. Other exhibited artists include Tokujin Yoshioka, Heri Dono, and Jeong So-yoon.

The museum is situated on the 53rd and 54th floors at the top of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, part of the larger Mori Arts Center. Visitors enter through the "Museum Cone" on the 2nd floor, an elliptically shaped structure encircling a high-speed elevator that ascends to the 52nd floor, housing the Mori Art Center Gallery, Tokyo City View shop, and restaurant, and then to the 53rd floor where the main museum galleries are located. The 53rd floor serves as the primary exhibition space and includes an auditorium and additional shop. The galleries themselves are arranged in an elliptical formation, with stairs leading to the Sky Deck at the centre. The museum's exhibition space covers approximately 2,000 square metres, flexibly configurable according to each exhibition. Richard Gluckman of Gluckman Mayner Architects served as the interior architect for the 53rd-floor galleries. The complex also includes Tokyo City View, a rooftop observatory deck offering views over nearly 360 degrees of the city.

The Mori Art Museum is located in the Roppongi Hills complex in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. It is singular among major Tokyo museums for its late opening hours, an effort to make arts and culture accessible to the wider public; in 2018, visitors after 5 p.m. accounted for 30 percent of total visitorship. Condé Nast Traveler has praised its exhibitions as "as thought-provoking as they are instagrammable." The museum is owned and operated as part of the Mori Building Company's broader cultural and commercial enterprise, with programming designed to cater to audiences ranging from children to older adults, and from local residents to international visitors.