The problem of missing exhibition dates and missing out

As a personal memo, I have been writing articles on note every three months about recommended exhibitions I want to see.

You can find my previous articles in this magazine. Reviews of exhibitions I have visited are compiled on Instagram, as well as in my audio program, "Listening to Museum & Gallery Reviews."

I am often asked about exhibitions I can visit now or for recommendations, and I am also frequently asked this question:

How do you gather information about exhibitions and art?
If I'm not careful, I realize the exhibition has already ended by the time I notice...


So, this time, I will address theproblem of missing exhibition dates and missing outissue.

If I may be so bold, let me introduce how I usually obtain information about exhibitions at museums and galleries.
I mainly use four methods.

1. Ultra-analog: Collecting flyers and DMs at museums and galleries I visit

Even in the Reiwa era, flyers—that is, leaflets—still play a major role as a means of promoting exhibitions.
It is completely counter-cultural and not eco-friendly, though.

Also, I personally like printed paper materials, and I have an overly analog temperament where I prefer things I can look at immediately at hand. So, whenever I visit a museum or gallery, I always check the area where flyers are available and take home the ones that catch my eye.

It's the same at galleries. Instead of A4 paper, they mostly have postcards, or DMs, but I take home the ones that interest me in the same way.

Based on the printed materials I get, I search on the web or social media. I look up information about the artist and the project, and then decide, 'Okay, I'm going!'

So, what specifically makes me interested enough to take them home? There are two points:

A) The content of the project itself (artist, theme of the exhibition, etc.)
B) The design of the flyer or DM itself

A is normal, or rather obvious, but B is also quite important. It's like a 'buy it for the cover' feeling.
I have discovered countless exhibitions and artists that I thought were wonderful here. Many of them are particular about the paper and printing, so I often put them in frames and display them.

Aside...

You might have guessed, but I am the type who always keeps ticket stubs. And I keep the flyer and the exhibition list as a set.

For me, flyers and DMs are like museum goods. Just like buying postcards at a shop, they become memories of having visited the exhibition.

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2. Following the social media accounts of my favorite museums, galleries, artists, and art lovers

Lately, this method seems to be the mainstream for getting information.
It is truly a benefit of the social media age. Since the information is posted by the official sources, it is reliable, too.

Actually, for about half a year now, I have beenin charge of Twitter for a certain eventand I have been browsing the accounts of various officials and individuals to use as a reference for what kind of content to post and how to post it.

Sharing information on social media is actually quite a lot of work and requires a knack... It demands a different kind of attention to detail than flyer production, and the text, images, content, and timing of the posts are all important.

To everyone managing these accounts daily, thank you for your hard work!!!
I'm always checking them!

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3. E-Tele's "Sunday Art Museum," newspapers, and magazines

It's an analog method again, but in the end, mass media is reliable.
I love the "Art Scene" segment that airs at 9:45 AM on E-Tele's "Sunday Art Museum" just as much as the main program that starts at 9:00 AM on Sundays.

There are many exhibitions I end up wanting to visit after seeing footage of the gallery space and the works here.
When I find out about interesting special exhibitions outside of Tokyo where I live, I get incredibly envious and end up searching to see if the same artist or a traveling exhibition is coming to Tokyo.

Also, while gathering information, I also think about when it might be less crowded to visit, since it tends to get busy right after the broadcast.

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I actually rely on newspapers more than you'd think.
Well, I suppose it's also because I love newspapers enough to write an article like this lol

I really look forward to the art feature published once a week in the evening edition. The exhibition information is also presented in a list format, which makes it easy to understand.

The exhibition information for galleries that appears regularly in the local section of the morning paper is also surprisingly not to be underestimated. I've encountered artists I liked after seeing a small black-and-white image, searching for it on the web, and thinking, 'How wonderful!'

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For magazines, I focus on general fashion, culture, and lifestyle magazines rather than specialized art magazines. I take a quick look at the ART section or pick them up if they have any features related to art.

Also, once a year, usually around the end of the year or New Year, I quickly check out mook books released by publishers like Pia or Nikkei Otona no OFF.

4. Regularly patrolling art media

This is the last one.
When collecting information on exhibitions at museums and galleries, the one I use most often is... perhapsartscape, because the search method is easy to use and suits my preferences.

In addition to exhibition information, exhibition reports that are easy to understand include those from Sfumato, who I also work with for interviews.

Bijutsuten Navi is a site I often use, more so for seeing previews appear on my Twitter timeline than on the web itself.

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In Tokyo, there are as many exhibitions held every day as there are stars in the sky.

As you might have guessed from my introduction so far, I probably collect information related to art on my own much more than the average person.

And for the exhibition information I've gathered using the four methods above and decided I want to go to, I then create a list using Google Sheets (like Excel).

I must say, I am very diligent lol. Because of my job, and because it's practically a hobby, I compare this list with my schedule whenever I have a spare moment to think about when I can go see them.

With the development of the internet, anyone can now disseminate information, and it has become a world where you can get a considerable amount of necessary information if you try to collect it. At the same time, if you don't carefully select information as you collect it, it becomes too overwhelming and quickly gets buried by other information.

Even for someone like me who actively collects and selects information, the one thing I often miss and struggle with is information on gallery exhibitions.

Exhibitions at museums often last for two to three months, but exhibitions at galleries usually end in just one week, or two weeks at most. They don't have the budget or manpower to carry out active public relations, so there are many times when I didn't even know they were happening!

I think this is one of the reasons for the issue that Japanese people often go to museums, but almost never buy works at galleries..

If the information isn't even reaching people who are very interested in art, how could it possibly reach people who aren't that interested?

I'm wondering if there's something that can be done about this...

By the way, here is what I am doing for now.

In the end, more so than museum information, you have to go out and get it yourself. So, I try to introduce exhibitions by galleries and artists I recommend on my Twitter and other platforms as much as possible.

Summary

For those of you who think, 'Wait, wait, it's impossible for me to collect information this diligently!!!' I would be happy if you would follow my note account & magazine, Instagram, and Twitter lol.

I also introduce museums and galleries through audio. Please check it out.

I also regularly recommend books and exhibition catalogs. Please check those out as well.