Director's Message

The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT) opened its doors in January 2007 as Japan's fifth national art institution under the umbrella of The Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art. NACT made a good start in its first year, attracting more than three million visitors to its exhibitions. I would like to express our deepest gratitude to all for the warm and generous support given to NACT these past years.

Instead of maintaining a permanent collection, NACT has made the most use of a total 14,000 square meters of exhibition space, one of the largest in Japan, to accommodate the needs of various types of exhibitions, including those of artist associations with a national membership base as well as exhibitions conceived by the Center's curatorial staff that focus on the latest trends in contemporary art. NACT also serves as a venue for large-scale exhibitions co-organized with mass media companies and other art institutions.

In addition, we have promoted outreach activities through educational programs for all ages, and the Art Library serves to collect and disseminate information related to art, including a comprehensive collection of post-WWII Japanese exhibition catalogues. In order to provide a pleasant environment to visitors, we are also making efforts to improve additional facilities such as a restaurant, café and museum shop.

We hope that you will enjoy appreciating art and spending meaningful time at our institution, and would like to ask for your continued support and cooperation.

HAYASHIDA Hideki
Director
The National Art Center, Tokyo