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The Museum's Past and Future
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The Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, formerly the Yawata City Museum of Arts and Crafts, which opened in 1958, opened its current main building in 1974. The museum has collected and preserved approximately 8,000 works of art, mainly by artists from western Japan, and has provided many citizens with opportunities to experience excellent art works.
The museum has also focused on educational outreach programs in collaboration with elementary and junior high schools, including a pioneering art volunteer program since the opening of the museum and "museum tours" for all third-grade elementary school students in the city.
In 1987, the Annex building was completed adjacent to the main building, and in 2003, a branch of the museum was opened in the River Walk Kitakyushu complex in the city center. The Kurosaki Civic Gallery was opened in 2013 in Comcity, adjacent to JR Kurosaki Station, and has become a center for local cultural activities.
In addition, the main building underwent a major renovation due to aging facilities, and since its reopening in 2017, the museum has worked to provide attractive exhibition programs, effective educational outreach activities, and a comfortable viewing space.
The annex will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2023, and the main building will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024. We will strive for further development by leveraging our past achievements to become a museum that is open to the public and more accessible and familiar to them.
Changes in Operational Policies
Since its opening, the Municipal Museum of Art has operated under the basic policies of "collecting unique art works as a regional art museum" and "aiming to be a living museum closely connected to the public. This basic philosophy remains unchanged today and should be carried on in the future.
In 2010, the museum formulated "The Future of the Municipal Museum of Art," which reiterated its basic philosophy and policies, aiming to make its basic policies easier for citizens to understand and to contribute to the promotion of local culture for the citizens. Based on this philosophy and policy, in 2011, the museum formulated its first medium-term plan, the "Five-Year Plan for Museum Management," and has been striving to improve museum management over the medium to long term.
Due to the completion of specific projects and changes in the environment surrounding the museum, "The Future of the Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art" was partially revised and renamed "Basic Philosophy and Basic Policies of the Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art" upon the renovation of the main building in 2017.
Five years have passed since this revision, and the environment surrounding society and art museums has changed even more drastically. We are now required to respond to issues that need to be considered from various angles, such as the promotion of diversity and multicultural conviviality based on the city's proactive approach to the SDGs, the values of art in a post-coronial society, and the questioning of the ideal state of art museums.
As part of our efforts to address these issues and look ahead to the next generation, we have made partial revisions to the "Basic Philosophy and Basic Policies of the Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art".
Basic Philosophy
An art museum that creates affluence and spiritual richness in the lives of its citizens and grows together with the community.
<Pillars of the Basic Philosophy
1. To pass on cultural resources
The Municipal Museum of Art, while taking into account the historical foundation, achievements, and challenges that have been cultivated over the years, will explore and implement ways to maximize the use of the city's unique "cultural resources" by reevaluating the works and activities in its collection, which are the assets of its citizens. At the same time, we will accurately collect and organize information on artworks and artists, properly preserve artworks, and systematically restore them as necessary.
2. To enjoy the world of the work in all its diversity and fullness
By viewing art museums as "devices for learning about society and culture," the Municipal Museum of Art will analyze art works from a wide range of social and cultural perspectives, as well as introducing art history and aesthetics, in order to find points of contact that can be shared with viewers of all ages. By exploring and actively presenting various ways of viewing artworks, we will strive to encourage free and diverse art appreciation by the public. At the same time, we will explore the diverse cultural significance of art and multicultural conviviality by fully examining the world of artworks based on academic research and actively engaging in collaboration with other fields. We aim to contribute to a culturally rich life by providing a fresh environment where people can confront society, the times, and themselves through art.
3. To grow with the community
As the birthrate declines and the population ages at an accelerating pace, the Municipal Museum of Art will focus on educational outreach activities in order to respond flexibly and meticulously to the interests and needs of citizens of all ages, from children to the elderly. In particular, the museum will emphasize the "museum experience" of "visiting and spending time at the museum," including viewing artworks and participating in workshops, and will actively engage in a variety of projects outside the museum. In addition, while taking into account our history of establishing the nation's first museum volunteer system, we will continue to develop and continue our volunteer activities by restructuring our volunteer organization and reviewing our projects to make them more suitable for modern society, and by supporting volunteer activities as an independent organization that thinks and acts on its own initiative.
4. To convey the appeal of art
Museum projects inherently have the mission of "what and how to leave behind" for future citizens. It is not only about art works. Encounters with art museums and artists, as well as interactions among citizens, often lead to irreplaceable memories that will last a lifetime. In order to encourage these experiences, it is an important role of museums to constantly disseminate living information to the citizens of today.
5. To pass on an engaging museum experience
The main building of the Municipal Museum of Art, designed by Arata Isozaki, opened in 1974. Today, the museum also operates the Municipal Art Museum Annex and Kurosaki Civic Gallery, which are loved and used by many citizens throughout the city. The event of "museum experience" enriches the cultural life of citizens, and the tradition itself, in which the sensitivity and feelings are passed on to the surroundings and the next generation, is an important intangible culture and shows the significance of the museum's existence. To this end, we will continue to develop the museum environment and opportunities for citizens to use the museum.
Basic Policy and Collection Policy
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We aim to become a "living museum" that grows together with the community.
The term "living museum" was used in the basic policy of the museum at the time of its opening, with the intention of creating a "relaxing museum" that is closely connected to the daily lives of the citizens. Today, in addition to this element, the museum also plays a role as a "place for citizen participation" where citizens and the museum work together to nurture each other's activities. Therefore, by redefining the term "living museum" as a "living (=living) museum" together with its citizens, we aim to create a dynamic museum that grows together with its citizens.
<Themes for the realization of "Living Museums
Living with Art: Museums as Research and Conservation Institutions
We will promote research and study of artworks and information on artists, and preserve them appropriately. In addition, through exchanges with related persons and organizations, we will examine art of the past and present, and pass on the results to future generations.
Living in the Modern Age: Museum of Contemporary Art
By exploring the connections between art and society and daily life in light of the changing times and cultural diversity, we will create and disseminate opportunities for new encounters and discoveries that spread from art. In addition, we will implement a wide range of museum projects that enrich our daily lives by looking at the present day.
Living with the Community: Art Museums that Coexist with Daily Life
Viewing museum operations as a part of local community activities, we will strive to enhance a variety of educational and outreach programs for citizens of all ages, from children to the elderly.
Living up to the Latest Information - Museums that Continue to Deliver Appeal
We will communicate various museum project initiatives to citizens and the world. We will also provide enrichment to the lives of art fans by attracting attractive traveling exhibitions and strengthening business and PR collaboration with other museums and cultural facilities.
Living in a Rich Environment: Museums as Places of Rest and Recreation
Maintain a comfortable viewing space to savor the extraordinary experience of the museum experience and enliven the production as a place of relaxation for the public.
Collection Policy
Based on the accumulation of the museum's collection since its opening, which includes world-class works of art, the museum will strive to collect high-quality, outstanding works of art, while aiming to form a distinctive collection as a regional art museum.In collecting, we also pay attention to the historical background and the relationship between artists and works.
While following the collection policy and trends of the museum's holdings since its opening, we will continue to aim for sustainable collection activities. In addition, we will strive to protect and restore artworks and manage the museum's environment, including the storage and exhibition rooms.
<Collection Policy Three Pillars
Excellent work that demonstrates the diversity of the modern world.
The competition will be open to outstanding works that demonstrate a connection to contemporary society through art, encouraging the viewer to relive, reflect on, and empathize with the times and society.
Works indispensable in the construction of art history of the region
Works of art that are important for the construction of art history in the western Japan region, centering on Kitakyushu, are eligible.
Enhancement and supplementation of existing collections that trace the development of modern and contemporary art history
This category is for works necessary to promote the systematization of existing collections.
Self-evaluation and external evaluation based on mid-term plan
Efforts related to overall museum operations
The management of the museum will be reported to the Kitakyushu Municipal Museums Council, which is composed of experts and academics with advanced knowledge and experience, and improvements and corrections will be discussed. At the same time, we will work to expand the organizational structure and improve the management system.
Goal setting and evaluation of museum projects
We will set targets for each of the museum's projects in five-year units, and evaluate and verify them based on annual plans. The museum will conduct a self-evaluation and an external evaluation by the Kitakyushu Municipal Museums Council. Based on the results of these evaluations, the PDCA cycle will be used to improve operations and services.
