Art Collaboration Kyoto: The Fair That Lets Galleries Work at Japan’s Speed

News Japan’s Art Market on Upward Trend, Led by Domestic Buyers Elaine YJ Zheng

Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK) hopes to deliver on its commitment to fostering exchange between international and domestic markets this November, with subsidised booths reducing sales pressure and an irregular floorplan aimed to spark unexpected findings. 

Backed by local and federal government, ACK will host 72 galleries at Kyoto International Conference Center for its fifth edition under the theme 2050–Gaze Toward the Future, examining enduring cooperative practices with aims to ‘bettering the future of the art world’.

Fair director Yukako Yamashita was proud to introduce a ‘strong lineup’, and spoke of the collective effort of cultural preservation.

‘A stronger future can be built not through a single dominant force, but through a harmony of many small forces that transcend disciplines and regions,’ she said

This year’s fair will see 30 dual-gallery presentations pair Japanese spaces with international counterparts, while a dedicated section highlights works tied to the former Japanese capital’s history, which harks back to the 8th century.

Notable returning galleries include Perrotin, kurimanzutto, London’s Sadie Coles HQ, and Mendes Wood DM (exhibiting with Kyoto’s Shibunkaku). The fair also welcomes 25 first-time exhibitors, including reputable galleries like Gladstone Gallery, showing with Tokyo’s TARO NASU, and Chapter NY, exhibiting with KAYOKOYUKI. 

First-time regional exhibitors include Hong Kong’s Kiang Malingue, exhibiting with Tokyo’s SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, and Manila’s Silverlens with Osaka’s Yoshiaki Inoue Gallery.

Overall participation is increasing at a slow and steady rate, with last year’s exhibitors capped at 69 despite a 35 percent surge in applications. 

As Mendes Wood DM partner Martin Aguilera told ARTnews: ‘Japan is not the kind of place where you can just come in, show your wares, and people will start buying. People have to see that you respect the local scene so they can take you seriously.’

ACK aligns with broader cultural investments in Japan, including Art Week Tokyo in November and efforts to boost tourism amid a weakening yen—benefiting tax-exempt international dealers. 

Mirroring Japanese collectors’ relationship-driven approach, the fair’s structure facilitates discovery with no distinction between local and international galleries and an open-concept floor plan designed to spark unplanned encounters. 

‘Japan’s collector base is steadily growing, driven by a new generation of thoughtful, research-driven buyers,’ ACK told Ocula, adding the fair hopes ‘to contribute to more connected and resilient art ecosystem in Japan and beyond’.

Domestic collectors accounted for 84 percent of the Japanese market’s value last year, which outperformed global averages by 10 percent from 2019 to 2023, a report by Japan’s culture agency and art economist Clare McAndrew found. 

The preferred buying channel for Japanese collectors was through galleries, which accounted for a staggering 74 percent of sales versus 44 percent globally, while art fairs delivered a modest ten percent.

Concurrent programming features Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco at Oscaar Mouligne (organised with kurimanzutto), South Korean artist Lee Bae at Konkai-Komyoji Temple (with Johyun Gallery), and a new artist residency with Bangkok Kunsthall.

ACK will run from 14 to 16 November, with a preview on 13 November. —[O]

Main image: Art Collaboration Kyoto, 2024. Courtesy ACK. Photo: Yuki Moriya.