ARTnews TOKYO OLYMPICS GETS CULTURAL HUB

ARTnews TOKYO OLYMPICS GETS CULTURAL HUB

Tokyo Olympics Gets Cultural Hub

 

The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which are set to open in the Japanese capital next month after being delayed by a year because of the pandemic, will be accompanied by a new cultural hub called Olympic Agora. Running from July 1 to August 15 and located in the city’s historic Nihonbashi district, the venue will feature installations by Japanese artists Rinko Kawauchi and Makoto Tojiki, a participatory work by Montreal-based studio Moment Factory, an exhibition of objects from the Olympic Museum’s permanent collection in Switzerland, and a newly commissioned, site-specific sculpture by French artist Xavier Veilhan. That piece, titled The Audience, will be a permanent installation at the site. The Agora will also host an exhibition of work by six former Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are currently artists in residence. They are Ciara Michel (Great Britain, Volleyball, London 2012), Slaven Dizdarević (Slovak Republic, Track and Field, Beijing 2008), Kelly Salchow MacArthur (USA, Rowing Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004), Gregory Burns (USA, Swimming, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000), Roald Bradstock (Great Britain, Track and Field, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988), and Hannah Wilkinson (New Zealand, Football, London 2012 and Rio 2016).