21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Ahead of its extended closure beginning in May 2027, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa presents an exhibition that reflects on the museum’s position today and reconsiders what it means to carry works of art into the future. “Today” refers both to the “contemporary” of contemporary art—the present moment—and to the more than twenty years that have passed since the museum opened in 2004. “Tomorrow” points to the time following the closure and renovation, extending into the next twenty years and beyond.

Museums are entrusted with preserving works for centuries, even millennia. Yet the stewardship of art involves many uncertainties, including the aging of materials, the obsolescence of equipment, and changes in exhibition environments and social conditions. This exhibition therefore begins with a concrete and immediate question: how can the museum safeguard its collection for the next twenty years?

Focusing on works from the collection that require renewed consideration of conservation, restoration, exhibition, and long-term stewardship, the exhibition presents works in craft, mixed-media, media art, installation, and performance-related forms. It brings together not only the works themselves but also the processes surrounding them, including research, restoration, equipment upgrades, re-enactment, and documentation. Rather than fixing a work in a single past state, the exhibition asks what must be carried forward, and what kinds of change must be accepted, for a work to remain itself. Through the stewardship of artworks, it considers the future role and responsibilities of the museum.