61st Venice Biennale Japan Pavilion Announces Details for Second Half of Exhibition Period

The Japan Foundation (JF) announces the detailed program for the latter half of the exhibition period at the Japan Pavilion for the 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition (Representative Artist: Ei Arakawa-Nash, Co-Curators: Mizuki Takahashi, Risa Horikawa).

Details have now been finalized for the participatory vocal performance "Opera 'Baby, Moon, Baby, Sun' MORE THAN MUSICAL with Ei Arakawa-Nash," which will travel between and connect the Japan Pavilion and the Korean Pavilion.

We are pleased to provide the following information, including the positive reception since the opening and the background of this unprecedented official collaboration with the Korean Pavilion.

"Baby, Moon, Baby, Sun" Opera MORE THAN MUSICAL with Ei Arakawa-Nash, Image Drawing, Courtesy of Ei Arakawa-Nash

The Japan Pavilion exhibition "Baby, Moon, Baby, Sun," which opened on May 9, 2026, has been featured as a noteworthy pavilion of this edition by domestic and international art media and newspapers.

In Japan, the background leading to the exhibition was detailed in "Harper's BAZAAR art" and "ARTnews JAPAN," while "Bijutsu Techo" and "Tokyo Art Beat" published in-depth on-site reports of the Japan Pavilion shortly after its opening. Internationally, the exhibition was covered by art media such as "ArtAsiaPacific," "Artforum," "ARTnews," "ArtReview," "Flash Art," "Frieze," and "The Art Newspaper." It was also featured in newspapers from various countries, including "The New York Times," which selected it as one of the "Top 7 Buzzing Pavilions," as well as "Corriere della Sera" and "The Guardian," and "South China Morning Post."

This exhibition is born from the childcare experiences of queer artist Ei Arakawa-Nash, who became a parent of twins in 2024. Starting from the artist's own identity as an Asian diaspora living in America and reflections on their homeland's history, the Japan Pavilion is transformed into a space that questions the future world through the act of "care" where visitors nurture a baby, a symbol of the future.

The 57 baby dolls handed to visitors in the first-floor pilotis area, the starting point of the work, are given "birthdays" that are historical dates from the 20th century that Arakawa-Nash wishes to pass on to their children. The exhibition features various creators from different fields, countries, eras, and generations. Visitors, while caring for the baby dolls, explore these works and, upon changing the diapers, receive "Diaper Poems" written by astrologer and writer Yukari Ishii, tailored to the baby's birthday. Through this series of care actions, visitors confront the question of responsibility and hope passed down through generations: "How can we face the past and celebrate the new life that lies beyond it?"

Ei Arakawa-Nash "Baby, Moon, Baby, Sun" Exhibition View (2026) Photo: Uli Holz, Courtesy of the artists, Provided by: The Japan Foundation Performance "24-Hour Care" by FAC XTRA RETREAT Photo: Uli Holz, Courtesy of the artists, Provided by: The Japan Foundation

The context embedded in these 57 dates connects to the adjacent Korean Pavilion (Representative Artists: Choi Go-eun, Noh Hyeri, Curator: Choi Binu), leading to one of the exhibition's significant initiatives: the "first-ever official collaboration between pavilions in the history of the Japan Pavilion." This collaboration was realized through an official partnership with the Arts Council Korea (ARKO), built upon years of friendship, deep dialogue, and trust between the artists and curators of both pavilions.

On the roof of the Korean Pavilion, baby dolls with birthdays marking significant historical moments are installed in poses related to their backgrounds. Additionally, baby dolls from the Japan Pavilion participate in Noh Hyeri's regular performance "Bearing." Furthermore, a sculpture titled "Corea Pavilion-Bush-Giappone Pavilion" by Choi Go-eun, made of copper pipes, is installed traversing the boundary between the two pavilions.

At the opening reception held on May 6, singer-songwriter Lee Lan's performance of "Our ᄆ (mieum)"

was followed by the Japan Pavilion team and audience members moving to the front of the Korean Pavilion to share a toast with the Korean Pavilion team.

*Regarding "Our ᄆ (mieum)" by Lee Lan, sung at the opening reception, lyrics can be viewed and the audio can be listened to on the following special page on the Korean Pavilion's official website. (Official Website: https://www.korean-pavilion.or.kr/reader/our-mieum/ )

Unprecedented Official Collaboration with the Korean Pavilion: Choi Go-eun's "Corea Pavilion-Bush-Giappone Pavilion" (2026) Transcending the Border Between Japan and Korea Photo: Uli Holz, Provided by: The Japan Foundation Joint Toast Ceremony with the Korean Pavilion (May 6, 2026, Japan Pavilion / Korean Pavilion Opening Reception) Photo: Ryuichi Maruo, Provided by: The Japan Foundation

This dialogue and collaboration between the pavilions will see further development in the latter half of the exhibition period. Details of the "Opera 'Baby, Moon, Baby, Sun' MORE THAN MUSICAL with Ei Arakawa-Nash," to be held as part of this initiative, are as follows:

Details of "Opera 'Baby, Moon, Baby, Sun' MORE THAN MUSICAL with Ei Arakawa-Nash"

A participatory vocal art experience that transcends the traditional framework of a pavilion, weaving the world with the audience's own "voices." This is an unprecedented participatory vocal performance that begins at the Japan Pavilion and travels to the Korean Pavilion.

Title: Opera "Baby, Moon, Baby, Sun" MORE THAN MUSICAL with Ei Arakawa-Nash

Date and Time: August 30 (Sun) 11:30 (1st session) / 16:00 (2nd session) / 17:00 (3rd session)

September 1 (Tue) 11:30 (1st session) / 16:00 (2nd session) / 17:00 (3rd session)

September 2 (Wed) 11:30 (1st session) / 16:00 (2nd session) / 17:00 (3rd session)

Venue: 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion - Korean Pavilion (Touring type)

Performers: Yasushi Hirano (Bass-Baritone), Ariel Yuhyun Chung (Soprano)

Participation Method: No registration required (※Visitors with a Biennale admission ticket do not need a separate ticket)

Organizer: 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion Event Executive Committee [Ei Arakawa-Nash, Mizuki Takahashi, Risa Horikawa, Takayuki Ishii, Takayuki Masuyama]

Co-organizers: MORE THAN MUSICAL, Taka Ishii Gallery, The Japan Foundation

Synopsis: The theme is "The process of humans learning to sing = the creation of society." In the Japan Pavilion, the "origin of voice," audiences will hear the primordial sounds and breaths of a baby and respond with their own meaningless sounds. As they move to the Korean Pavilion, a space of "socialization," the voices of the audience members will imitate and overlap with each other, eventually being sublimated into a single beautiful music (the structure of society) by professional opera singers, without any instruments. The highlights are the "touring" direction that melts the national silos of the historic Biennale, and the overwhelming immersive experience unique to MORE THAN MUSICAL, which transforms the audience from passive viewers into "co-creators." Directed by Satoshi Taoshita, the performance strongly questions what kind of future (world) we will create through sound and body, via the process of "care" of listening to and responding to the voices of others.

This project was made possible through support from the crowdfunding campaign "Let's Perform at the Japan Pavilion," the first of its kind for the Japan Pavilion exhibition.

(Crowdfunding Special Site: https://congrant.com/project/artnest/19915)

About MORE THAN MUSICAL

A pioneering opera (vocal art) company founded in Hong Kong in 2016, which expanded its activities to Japan in 2025. It reconsiders the formal boundaries of traditional opera and continues to practice the reorganization of the interrelationships between "sound, body, space, audience, and memory."

At the core of the company is immersive opera, which transforms the audience from passive viewers into "co-creators" of expression. From "La Traviata" in historic buildings such as Kudan House and Kyoto Ohara Sanso, and the intersection of "Kabuki x Pagliacci" at Shibuya Konno Hachimangu Shrine, to stadium performances for tens of thousands of people that transcend the traditional theater framework, including the 2025 Zico All-Star Game "HIROSHIMA" and the 2026 J.League opening match, they present site-specific stages deeply connected to the unique memories and public nature of places. Engaging audiences of tens of thousands, they have presented opera as a collective and contemporary experience.

Redefining opera not as a fixed classical genre but as a constantly transforming and generating process, they are globally disseminating their work while fundamentally innovating its scale and relationship with the audience.

(MORE THAN MUSICAL Official Website: www.mtmjapan.org / www.morethanmusical.org )

Producer: Rumiko Hasegawa

Director: Satoshi Taoshita

Born in Hyogo in 1972, raised in Yokohama. Winner of the 20th Goto Memorial Cultural Award for New Opera Artists.

Studied Western theater and directing under Michael Hampe, and received instruction in playwriting from Oladipo Agboluaje.

Recent directing credits include MORE THAN MUSICAL's "Kabuki x Pagliacci," Saitama Arts Theater "The Tale of the Heike," Nissei Theatre "Lucia," LDH "Interview," Kansai TV "Dorothy," "Galileo," and Kabuki "Snowy Firefly Koi no Taki."

Future projects include directing operas, musicals, and plays, as well as playwriting abroad.

Project Manager: Tatsu Fukamachi

Performer Profiles

Yasushi Hirano (Bass-Baritone)

Graduated from Nihon University College of Art and the Master's program at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with top honors. After debuting at the Graz Opera, he served as a principal singer at the Vienna Volksoper for 14 years. He has performed at the Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonic, Salzburg Festival, and more. In the 25/26 season, he appeared in Volksoper's "The Magic Flute" and Bach Collegium Japan's Shanghai performance, and made a highly acclaimed role debut as Zaccaria in "Nabucco" at the Staatstheater Cottbus in Germany. X account @YasushiHirano

© Akira Muto

Ariel Yuhyun Chung (Soprano)

Completed Bachelor's and Master's degrees with top honors at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She has performed in various opera houses, including the Theater an der Wien, in roles such as Ilia in "Idomeneo," Mimi in "La Bohème," Pamina in "The Magic Flute," and Donna Elvira in "Don Giovanni." She debuted as a soprano soloist at the Vienna Konzerthaus. She also performed as Martire Gloriosa in Mahler's Symphony No. 8. She has won numerous awards, including the Grand Prix at the Schubert International Competition.

Other Related Programs

November 20 (Fri) Children's Tour 2 by Ei Arakawa-Nash

A special children's tour led by the artist, targeting children residing in Venice, where they will explore the venue while caring for baby dolls, symbols of the future.

November 20 (Fri) Evening Sound Listening Event "Baby, Cloud, Baby, Night"

An event to listen to an 8-channel sound art piece created for this exhibition by Serge Tcherepnin after sunset.

November 22 (Sun) Performance: Ei Arakawa-Nash + End of Fall

A closing performance by Ei Arakawa-Nash, inspired by research on the carbon footprint of the Japan Pavilion conducted by ACCJ (AIT).

61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion

Exhibition Period: May 9 (Sat) - November 22 (Sun), 2026

Venue: Japan Pavilion (Giardini, Venice Biennale venue)

Exhibiting Artist: Ei Arakawa-Nash

Co-Curators: Mizuki Takahashi (Director / Chief Curator, CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile), Hong Kong), Risa Horikawa (Senior Curator / Head of Curatorial & Collections, National Gallery Singapore)

Organizer / Commissioner: The Japan Foundation

Special Grant: The Ishibashi Foundation

Including works and collaborations by the following artists: R. Kikuchi Johnson (Illustrator), Isamu Noguchi, Yukari Ishii (Writer), Reijiro Isumi (Tea Ceremony Master, Researcher of Teakettle History), Korean Pavilion 2026 (Representative Artists: Choi Go-eun, Noh Hyeri, Curator: Choi Binu), Reiji Saito, Serge Tcherepnin (Composer), Choi Jae-eun (Artist), Yuko Nakamura (Writer, Filmmaker) and Eiko Saeki (Sociologist), FAC XTRA RETREAT (Ei Arakawa-Nash, Patty Chang, Pearl C. Hsiung, Amanda Ross-Ho, Anna Sun-Hui, Shirley Tse, Amy Yao), MORE THAN MUSICAL

Other Collaborations and Partnerships: Miwako Arakawa and Friends in Fukushima (Sewing baby clothes), Arts Initiative Tokyo (NPO Arts Initiative Tokyo), Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca' Foscari University of Venice (DSAAM), End of Summer, Daishiro Mori (Graphic Designer) and Toshiki Koike (Graphic Designer), NUNO (Textile Design Studio)

※ For detailed biographies of each person and exhibition details, please refer to the press release dated March 19, 2026.

The Japan Foundation - [Media Inquiry] 61st Venice Biennale Japan Pavilion (2026) Ei Arakawa-Nash "Baby, Moon, Baby, Sun" Logo and Exhibition Details Decided

About the Homecoming Exhibition

Exhibition Period: June 19 (Sat) - September 20 (Mon, Holiday), 2027

Venue: ARTizon Museum, 6th Floor Exhibition Hall

Organizers: The Ishibashi Foundation ARTizon Museum, The Japan Foundation (JF)

ARTizon Museum http://www.artizon.museum

About the Commissioner

The Independent Administrative Institution, The Japan Foundation (JF), is Japan's only specialized institution that conducts comprehensive international cultural exchange projects in all regions of the world. Established in 1972 as a special corporation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it became an independent administrative institution on October 1, 2003. With 25 offices in 26 countries worldwide, its mission is to "Foster international affection and understanding through cultural exchange," creating person-to-person exchanges through various projects and information provision to deepen mutual understanding between people around the world and Japanese people. Since 1976, it has served as the organizer/commissioner for the Japan Pavilion exhibition at the Venice Biennale.

About the Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia)

The Venice Biennale is an art festival held at various locations in the island city of Venice, Italy. Since its first art exhibition in 1895, it has a history of over 130 years. In recent years, numerous international art festivals have been held worldwide, primarily focusing on art, and the Venice Biennale is the most prominent model case for these. "Biennale" is Italian for "every two years," and many similar art festivals are named "Biennale" or "Triennale" (every three years), taking the Venice Biennale as their model. Currently, it encompasses independent departments for art, architecture, music, film, and theater. Among these, the art exhibition is a focal point for the global art world as a venue to survey contemporary art trends and as one of the few international exhibitions that adopts a national participation format. Japan officially participated for the first time in 1952, and after the completion of the Japan Pavilion in 1956, it has participated continuously to this day. Since 1976, JF has organized the Japan Pavilion exhibition, and continues to do so. For past representative artists of the Japan Pavilion, please visit the official website of the Japan Pavilion. https://venezia-biennale-japan.jpf.go.jp

Reference Materials

Due to PR TIMES character limits, please refer to the [Attached Press Release Materials (Members Only).pdf] at the bottom of this page for the following information:

Handwritten message from Ei Arakawa-Nash (displayed on the wall of the first-floor pilotis at the Japan Pavilion to welcome visitors)

Co-Curator's Notes

Example of "Diaper Poems" written by astrologer and writer Yukari Ishii, tailored to birthdays

Examples of Media Coverage

Ei Arakawa-Nash, Representative Artist of the Japan Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, and Co-Curators Mizuki Takahashi and Risa Horikawa

Photo: Ryuichi Maruo, Provided by: The Japan Foundation

An example of "Diaper Poems" by Yukari Ishii, displayed by scanning a QR code. Courtesy of the artists and the Japan Foundation.

[Inquiries regarding the 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion]

Domestic Media Public Relations for the Japan Pavilion: Arita, Tsuda ([email protected])

International Media Public Relations: [email protected] / [email protected]