#Kabukicho #BENTEN #Art Night

BENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho: Rewilding the City Through Art

The renowned Kabukicho, Tokyo's vibrant nightlife district, is set to host the second installment of BENTEN 2 Art Night, an all-night art event. This unique experience takes place over three days, from November 1 to November 3, 2025, showcasing a variety of artistic expressions in a range of innovative settings throughout the district.

About BENTEN 2

Following its initial success in 2024, BENTEN 2 Art Night aims to immerse attendees in an adventurous journey through a variety of artworks performed and presented by both local and international artists. The first event saw a collaboration between diverse talents that transformed the bustling streets of Kabukicho into an open-air gallery canvassed with creativity and spontaneity.

This year's theme, “Rewilding the City,” challenges conventional notions of urban spaces. It seeks to explore how art can reclaim its instinctual essence amidst increasing urbanization where everything is engineered and sanitized. Kabukicho, a chaotic yet vibrant area, serves as the perfect backdrop for this exploration, pushing the boundaries to reveal art's potential for reinvention and renewal in an urban jungle.

Event Overview

The event is set to utilize distinctive venues including the Ohjo Building, Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Theatre, Decameron, WHITEHOUSE, and Tokyo Desert (formerly the Art Citizens' Kyoto) as spaces of interaction and engagement. Each space will prompt artists to confront and converse with their urban surroundings while encouraging visitors to participate actively in their explorative experience of art in the city. Through this, participants will reassess the connections between urban landscapes and artistic practice.

Among the notable contributions, the artist Miwa Yanagi, widely recognized for her provocative explorations of gender and identity, will feature prominently. Yanagi will draw upon mythology in her work entitled “Muneame,” highlighting themes of memory and existence through a conceptual maze of installations and performance art depicting Greek deities against a contemporary urban backdrop.

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