Popular for its exhibitions of artists and architects from around the world
Based on the concept to “create new culture” and to “revitalize the communities” of Kanazawa City, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa was built with the mission to vitalize the city and bring out new charms through a harmonious co-existence of the museum and the city. Marking its 10th year anniversary in 2014, the museum has been holding much talked about exhibitions of artists and architects from around the world. The museum is located in the center of Kanazawa City. Just like visiting a park, the museum can be visited casually by anyone. The museum has two sections: the Socializing Zone which is free of charge and the Exhibition Zone which requires fees for viewing various exhibitions. Especially popular is the “swimming pool” built by an artist from Argentina, Leandro Erlich. This unique, huge pool set up in one of the museum’s courtyards gives you the illusion that the pool is actually filled with water. In order to get inside the pool to experience this illusion up close, you must enter the Exhibition Zone. As in this example, there are many participation-oriented artwork items in this museum – a place of great fun for both children and adults. Another highlight of the museum is its changing exhibitions which are held for differing periods on various themes. The museum also has a Japanese style tea room, a library, a museum shop and a café restaurant, Fusion21, which serves dishes that use local vegetables including the unique Kaga vegetables.
A museum passport valid for three contemporary art museums
The Museum Link Pass is a shared museum passport valid for Japan’s three popular contemporary art museums, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Ishikawa Prefecture), the Benesse Art Site Naoshima (Kagawa Prefecture) and the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo). You can have it issued for free at any of these three museums. The passport is valid for one year from the date of issue. You will receive a discount for the entrance fee from the second museum and on, and at the third museum you visit, you will receive a special, original Museum Link item.