In the first part of the lecture, Akira Tatehata will present the most important issues related to contemporary Japanese art against the background both the post-war and current history of the country. In the second part, in a conversation with Paweł Pachciarek, he will talk, among other things, about how he invited Yayoi Kusama to represent Japan at the Venice Biennale (1993). Kusama, whose exhibition was shown in the Zachęta in 2004, was the first Japanese artist to fill the space of the entire pavilion with her solo project. The lecture will also present Kusama’s less known literary work, and also try to explain the sources of the artist’s great popularity – the queen of dots and psychedelia.

Akira Tatehata (b. 1947) – Japanese art critic, curator, and poet; he graduated in French literature from Waseda University; in 1986 he was visiting curator at Whitney Museum; he served as the commissioner of the Japanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale twice (in 1990 and 1993); Tama Art University professor (1991-2015), Director of the National Museum of Art in Osaka (2005-2011). As artistic director, he was involved in the preparation of numerous international exhibitions and festivals, including the 1st Yokohama Triennale (2001), the Aichi Triennale (2010), and Asia Corridor (2017). Today he is Director of the Museum of Modern Art in Saitama, Director of Kyoto Art Centre, Director of Yayoi Kusama Museum, and President of Tama Art University in Tokyo. He specializes in modern and contemporary art in Asia. He has received numerous awards for his poetry.

Paweł  Pachciarek (ur. 1986) – Japanese art expert, curator. He completed his PhD studies at the Department of Japanese Studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He is a lecturer at Osaka University. He has received numerous scholarships, including from Japan Foundation, Doshisha University, Japan’s Ministry of Education and Sport Member of the Japanese Association of Art Historians and the Aesthetics Association. He has close links with the artistic community in the Kansai region. He conducts research into contemporary Japanese art and aesthetics. He has contributed to the organisation of exhibitions and events organized, e.g. by the Kyoto Art Centre, Kyoto Experiment, the Osaka Contemporary Art Centre. Co-curator of the Polish-Japanese contemporary art exhibition “Celebration” (2019). Author of the first Polish monograph – “Kusama Yayoi czyli Obsesja Kropek” [Kusama Yaoi, or Dot Obsession] (2016). Since 2017, he has been the representative of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Japan.

The event was organized as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Poland and Japan:

partners: