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OPEN museum*This project ended in 2010.

What is OPEN museum?

Are you familiar with art museums? You might reply that they're not much fun because you don't know much about artists or artwork. So you tend to avoid them, right?

Since its opening, the National Museum of Western Art has long been offering visitors the chance to enjoy its collection in their own way, along with its mission to maintain its precious collection.

The museum is developing this objective, while putting importance on communication with other organizations and facilities. The “OPEN museum” project was begun with the aim of creating a more user-friendly art museum where people meet each other through art.

Basic concept

We are allowed to enjoy art freely, in our own way. There is no concrete approach. Take the oil painting of “Water Lilies” by Claude Monet, in this museum’s collection. Some people are touched by its rich colors, while others are fascinated by the painter’s background. Others may imagine the beauty of nature. There are so many different reactions to the painting. Some people like to view it from close up to examine the painter’s brushwork. Others prefer to view it from a distance. A person may want to come again to view the work a second time to gain a different impression from the first time.

There will be people who appreciate a certain work from a completely different angle than your own. Some people may agree with your opinion. Having a place where such people meet can add a new dimension of enjoyment and learning. It is the mission of Open museum to provide a place where people can find a wide variety of thinking or view artwork regardless of their age, gender or cultural background.

The museum holds a wide range of programs that are enjoyed by participants who come alone, in groups or as families. In addition, we will continue to search new media to provide visitors the enjoyment of our permanent collection. Again, the programs are to be enjoyed by people from all walks of life.

The National Museum of Western Art aims to be an “open” museum to all people.

Opportunities for People's Enjoyment and Networking

The National Museum of Western Art

Opportunity
the museum provides various opportunities for visitors to encounter art and meet other people
People
it is a museum open to people
Enjoyment
the museum provides programs so that visitors can enjoy the museum and its art
Networking
the museum facilitates communication between various people and organizations

Activities of OPEN museum

With the aim of being an open museum where people can communicate with each other through art, the museum provides participant-oriented programs that anyone can enjoy, whether they're by themselves, in groups or as families. We plan to enhance already-existing family and Christmas programs and to search for possibilities of the new media.

Fun Day

The museum is open all day (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) to provide programs for the enjoyment of the museum and its art. Visitors are invited to take part in programs of their choosing at any time.

Lectures and concerts

A music concert program featuring a lecture related to the artists and their works that are on exhibit. Visitors enjoy not just the music but also appreciate exhibitions with new viewpoints through lectures on the scores and composers.

Medieval Devotion: Photographs of Romanesque Art (Prints and Drawings Gallery)

Thursday 12 June - Sunday 26 August 2007

Le Corbusier and the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo(19th Century Hall, Prints and Drawings Gallery)

Thursday 4 June – Sunday 30 August 2009

Iconomorphosis: Selected Graphics from the NMWA Collection(Special Exhibition Galleries)

Tuesday 7 July – Sunday 16 August 2009

Rome: future déjà vu by HASHI(Prints and Drawings Gallery)

Saturday 19 September – Sunday 13 December 2009

Family Program—Doyo Bijutsu (Saturday Arts)

The program offers a set of art appreciation and creation for children aged from 6 to 10 years old with accompanied adults. Applications are required.

Christmas Programs

Celebrating anastasis, the museum features programs that present works related to Christmas and Christianity. Applications are required and accepted from November. Please see the detailed information on this site.
Also featured is a music concert open to all (no application required)

Visual guide

The audio-visual screen in the lobby of the Main Building shows representative works housed in the National Museum of Western Art, including the important paintings by Claude Monet and sculptures by August Rodin.
Also in the same lobby are panels of “Poplars in the Sun” by Claude Monet. His works are printed out and enlarged to about 300% the original size by Epson printers. The panels are reproductions of Monet's original paintings and printed in high precision. They allow the viewers to examine the painting in detail.

Enlarged panels

The enlarged panels that reproduce works from the permanent collection are displayed in the lobby of the Main Building.

Past panels
July 2007 ~ August 2008Claude Monet 《Water Lilies》
September 2008 ~ October 2009Paul Signac 《The Port of Saint-Tropez》
October 2009 ~ March 2010Claude Monet 《Poplars in the Sun》