One of the goals of my research is to find out about the Japanese art scene, and a way to do that is to go to art openings. It has been difficult to find information about art openings because the gallery system in Japan is run differently than in America. Exhibitions have shorter run times and many times the gallery is rented by the artists in 1 week segments for around 7oo dollars a week. I plan to go to galleries from time to time to meet the artists and the directors.

The first opening that I went to was at Noda Contemporary in Nagoya. I have seen some galleries in Roppongi, Tokyo but this was the first opening reception that I attended. The artist exhibiting was Ai Ohkawara (大河原　愛) who uses Japanese painting with modern human themes. At the opening I felt nervous at first because I had not been to an opening in Japan, but son relaxed after striking up a conversation with a photographer from Tokyo, Takahasi Masami(高橋　正美). He is a friend of the artist and drove down from Tokyo for the exhibit. He told a humorous story of hanging out the window while driving to snap photographs. He has a photo-blog with pictures and posts in Japanese.

Noda Contemporary’s food spread left nothing to want. Besides the art at a reception the food and the atmosphere are important components of an enjoyable evening. The gallery served beer and wine and plenty of Japanese finger snacks ranging from sushi to fruits and cheeses. I also met Matt Gambill who is an American working at the gallery. It is not often that you meet young Americans in Japan who are not English teachers. He recently translated the galleries website into English. Overall the night was a good experience and I look forward to future openings and events there.