Through the years, Guardian Garden has functioned mainly as a gallery venue for competitions, especially those open to all interested artists. The gallery’s activities have attracted the participation of large numbers of young artists, and many of their works have been introduced through both group and solo exhibitions. This exposure has launched the careers of many artists active today in their respective creative fields.

As Guardian Garden celebrates its 20th anniversary, we have asked artists who have been involved in the gallery’s events to create new works, of post card size, on the theme of “20 years into the future.” As with our “Hitotsubo” and “1_WALL” exhibitions, this celebratory exhibition will be divided into two parts: one focusing on graphics, and the other on photography. What they create will be their depictions or photographs of scenes they envision 20 years into the future, what they want to see retained, or not retained, 20 years from now. We hope that visitors to the gallery will imagine 20 years into the future together with us, making for a truly exciting exhibition.

Under a separate plan, the works displayed for this event will be sent 20 years from now to places designated by their respective artists. In that way, they will next confront their works 20 years into the future. This should encourage them to create works that will remain fresh, with universal appeal, even 20 years from now.

Commemorative Events

① Talk Show Vol.1: “We Were There”
Top creative artists of different generations – those who served on the judging panel and young artists whose works were exhibited – will gather together for a retrospective review of the “Hitotsubo” exhibitions, augmented by rare video footage. The participants will also talk about the efforts they have made to get where they are today, as well as their aspirations for the future.

② Talk Show Vol.2: “The Theater of Tomorrow”
Through the years, Guardian Garden has held a festival to support young theater troupes. For this talk, the gallery will invite a variety of guests who are prominent in today’s theatrical world, to ponder the future of theater.

③ Special Event: “For the next 20〜Bring it in! Sell it!”
Guardian Gallery has served mainly as a venue for exhibitions open to all participants, and going forward it will create a place where young artists of the next generation can bring their works and sell them.

★ Portfolio Review: “For the next 20”
Creative artists are invited to bring their portfolio of works for review. The review session will be open for public viewing.

★ Presentation: “For the next 20”
Artists selected by Guardian Garden will give free presentations of their new works, projects, creative process, etc. The presentations will be open for public viewing.

★ Slide Show: “For the next 20”
This will be an audiovisual show introducing, to musical accompaniment, works by artists who emerged from Guardian Garden, with a focus on “1_WALL” finalists. The show will be open for public viewing.