Sapporo Citizens Gallery

Photo by KUSUMI Erika

Opened in 1982 as a venue for citizens to exhibit and appreciate works created through their daily artistic activities, the Sapporo Citizens Gallery hosts several exhibitions throughout the year, including open-call exhibitions featuring paintings, calligraphy, sculptures, and crafts. This venue will serve as the departure point for the journey through Planet Snow, showcasing artists connected to Hokkaido and those exhibiting in Japan for the first time.

Artists and Works

Three Hokkaido-born/based artists have been selected sculptor KAWAKAMI Rie, who, amid the harsh nature of Ishikari City, engages deeply with iron while contemplating the geological timescale of Earth, otherwise known as “deep time” shigechanland ONISHI Shigenari, based in Tsubetsu Town, assembles driftwood and found objects to summon mysterious creatures and WAKAKI Kurumi, who humorously depicts the world using astonishing printmaking techniques that sometimes involve her entire body.

Five new artists have also been confirmed. These include Fanja BOUTS, who knits a world map of capitalism Cecilia BENGOLEA, who captures Jamaican dancers performing their distinctive dance amid a thunderstorm MORI Yuka, who expresses a world in which plants and humans melt together and Akkarawin KRAIRIKSH, who records the details of the small animals that visit his home garden. Also joining is internationally acclaimed maker of 3D animations, CHEN Xi, who will present a new video installation depicting beings surviving in a world of snow.

Moving beyond a human-centered perspective, this venue resonates voices that boldly transcend scalesfrom micron-level spores to planetary deep time.

Overview

Dates
January 16 Sat February 21 Sun, 2027
Planning
KANAZAWA Kodama
Artists
Cecilia BENGOLEA, Fanja BOUTS, CHEN Xi, KAWAKAMI Rie, Akkarawin KRAIRIKSH, MORI Yuka, shigechanland ONISHI Shigenari, WAKAKI Kurumi
Website
https://sapporo-shimin-gallery.jp/ Only available in Japanese
Address
Minami 2-jo Higashi 6-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo