The first decade of the twenty-first century has already passed and today we find 'space' drawing attention increasingly. Both outer space, into which research and development progresses, and artists' expressions of inner space are rapidly expanding/converging to constitute a parallel world. Coinciding with the 2014 space boom, we will look at the field of outer space that has drawn infinitely closer to our daily lives and also the inner space created by artists as a multiverse, surpassing individual cosmologies.

In Japan, artistic experiments in this field began immediately after the Second World War and contemporary works (particle or cosmic ray works, artificial satellite art, etc.) continue to develop. For approximately ten years JAXA's 'pilot missions in humanities and social sciences'* have carried out numerous ambitious, pioneering activities globally. Furthermore, in recent years have seen the return of the asteroid explorer, 'Hayabusa', to Earth and the launch of 'Hayabusa II', while large-scale expositions and exhibition facilities have opened and pre-events for the Tanegashima Space Art Festival have taken place, demonstrating the extent of the social boom in the space-related field. This exhibition will present art installations; items connected with space exploration, such as parts of satellites and rockets (fairings); material connected with entertainment, such as literature, manga and anime; interactive exhibits; discussions and other events to explore the new possibilities that 'reflect the expanding/converging world'. It will offer the opportunity to experience and consider 'space', not only as some different world or Utopia, but also as something that is 'ordinary' in a true sense.
* Space Art Project = art experiments in the Japanese 'Kibo' module of the International Space Station.

**image (left)
Tetsurō Fukuhara x Tokyo Space Dance 
Space Dance in Bangkok, 2009
photo: Tokyo Space Dance