Kitagawa Fram School: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Art Festivals, 57th Edition: “Gero Art Discovery 2026” Everyone’s School Project—Guests: Mounir Fatumi, Trevor Yong

Events

Kitagawa Fram School: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Art Festivals, 57th Edition: “Gero Art Discovery 2026” Everyone’s School Project—Guests: Mounir Fatumi, Trevor Yong

Summary

Talk

The Kitagawa Fram School is a program designed to explore the background of regional art festivals.

Continuing from the previous session, “Kitagawa Fram School: A Cross-Sectional Study of Art Festivals” will feature talks by experts in various fields related to art festivals, while also introducing initiatives not only from the “Echigo-Tsumari Art Field” but also from other regional art festivals, such as the “Setouchi International Art Festival” and the “Oku-Noto International Art Festival.”

<Program>

Kitagawa Fram School: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Art Festivals, 57th Edition: “Gero Art Discovery 2026” Everyone’s School Project—Guests: Mounir Fatumi, Trevor Yong

In this edition of the Kitagawa Fram Workshop, Mr. Kitagawa will introduce the curriculum for the “Gero Art Discovery 2026” Everyone’s School Project, which is scheduled to take place in September. We will also welcome two guest artists participating in upcoming regional art festivals: Munir Fatumi (participating in “Gero Art Discovery 2026”) and Trevor Yong (participating in the “Sky·Water·Sky Art Festival”).

Guest Profile

Mounir Fatumi

Born in Morocco in 1970; based in Paris and living on the island of Palma, Spain. Using a variety of media, including video, installation, painting, and sculpture, he creates artworks centered on themes such as identity, language, capitalism, media, and technology.He has participated in numerous international art festivals, including the Venice Biennale (2007, 2011, 2017). In Japan, he has participated in the Setouchi International Art Festival (2016, 2022) and the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (2018).

Trevor Yung

Using plant ecology, horticulture, aquarium systems, and installations as metaphors, he creates artworks centered on the theme of liberating everyday desires directed toward human relationships. Inspired by intimate and personal experiences, his practice spans a wide range of media, from photography and video to large-scale installations. Driven by a strong curiosity to understand the complexity of human activity, he constructs systems on various scales that explore the logic governing social structures.

In 2024, he represented Hong Kong at the 60th Venice Biennale, and in 2025, his post-Biennale exhibition was held at M+. Recent major solo exhibitions include those at the CAPC—Bordeaux Museum of Contemporary Art (2026) and the Kestner Gesellschaft (2025).

He has also participated in numerous museums and international exhibitions, including the Hong Kong Museum of Art (2025), the Lahore Biennale (2024), the Sydney Biennale, and M+ (2023).

He is currently based in Hong Kong.

Kitagawa Fram

Born in 1946 in Takada City, Niigata Prefecture (now Joetsu City). Graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts (History of Buddhist Sculpture).In 1982, he founded Art Front Gallery Co., Ltd. His major curatorial projects include the “Antoni Gaudí Exhibition,” the “No to Apartheid! International Art Exhibition,” and the “Fare Tachikawa Art Project.” As part of his efforts to foster community development through art, he has served as general director for events such as the “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale” and the “Setouchi International Art Festival.”

■ Books Related to the Regional Arts Festival

Click here for details

<Details & Registration>

[Date and Time] Friday, July 31, 2026, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Doors open at 6:50 PM)

[Location] Art Front Gallery (Daikanyama / Zoom participation available)

Hillside Terrace Building A, 29-18 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033

[Fee]

・Venue/Zoom participation (Adults): 2,000 yen

・Venue/Zoom participation (Students): 500 yen

・Annual Pass (Adults): 15,000 yen (flat-rate plan)

・Annual Pass (Students): 5,000 yen (flat-rate plan)

*Students purchasing the student plan will be asked to provide proof of student status after registration.

You can sign up for the annual plan here.

Click here to apply

<Archive>

[Past Guests]
・Episode 1: Yoshiki Nanjo (Artist), Kiyoshi Kawamura (National Museum of Japanese History)
・Episode 2: Oriza Hirata (Playwright and Director)
・Episode 3: Keizo Kioku (Photographer)
・Episode 4: Toshikatsu Kiuchi, Taichi Sunayama (Architects)
・Episode 5: Yoichi Tao, Jun Yano, and Kengo Sato (individuals focused on activities in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture)
・Episode 6: Toshiya Yoshimi (sociologist, Professor at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo)
・Episode 7: Toshiya Fukuda (Communications Director, “Oku-Noto International Art Festival”)
・Episode 8: Shigeru Ban (architect)
・Session 9: Kawamata Tadashi (Visual Artist)
・Session 10: Tomoko Konoike (Artist)
・Session 11: Kenji Kajiya, Daisuke Awata (Editors of Yusuke Nakahara’s *Art in Society*)
・Session 12: Moderator: Kitagawa Fram
・Session 13: Arifumi Genda(Professor, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo)
・Session 14: Min Tanaka (Dancer)
・Session 15: Daisuke Tsuda (Activist)
・Session 16: Takamasa Namikoshi (My Farm Co., Ltd.)
・Session 17: Tomohiro Onozuka (Specially Appointed Professor, University of Tokyo)
・Session 18: Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
・Session 19: Yoichi Kibata (Historian)
・Session 20: Hiraki Sawa & SIDE CORE (Artists)
・Session 21: Yukio Nishimura (Professor, Kokugakuin University; Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Community Development)
・Session 22: Ukyo Satake (Former Co-CEO, Grameen Euglena)
・Session 23: Luxury Logico [Kogora Kikou], Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Kanji Yumizashi (Artists participating in the “Oku-Noto International Art Festival 2023”)
・Session 24: Kitagawa Fram
・Session 25: Yu Sato (Artist)
・Episode 26: Fukasawa Takafumi (Artist)
・Episode 27: Toru Mio (Financial Expert)
・Episode 28: Hiroki Azuma (Philosopher)
・Episode 29: Tetsuya Umeda, Junnosuke Tada (Artists participating in the “Uchiboso Art Festival”)
・Episode 30: Takemi Kuresawa (Art Critic)
・Episode 31: Obana Kenichi, Kota Takeuchi (Artists participating in the “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2024”)
・Episode 32: Kenji Kai (Artistic Director, Sendai Mediatheque)
・Episode 33: Moderator: Kitagawa Fram (Echigo-Tsumari from the Point of View of Isobe Yukihisa)
・Session 34: Rudel Mo, Ekaterina Muromtseva (Northern Alps International Art Festival 2024)
・Session 35: Endo Toshikatsu, Tetsu Ukai (Artists participating in Minami-Hida Art Discovery; Market Planning / Tami Life Development Co., Ltd.)
・Session 36: Kitagawa Fram
・Issue 37: Jacob Mo, Torus Vil. (Artists)
・Issue 38: Wakato Onishi (The Asahi Shimbun)
・Issue 39: Masatsugu Ono (Novelist)
・Issue 40: Kitagawa Fram “Architect Hiroshi Hara and the History of the Art Festival”
・Episode 41: Kitagawa Fram, “Setouchi International Art Festival 2025”
・Episode 42: Leonid Chishkov, Marina Moskvina (Participating Artists in the “Setouchi International Art Festival 2025”)
・Episode 43: Tatsushi Fujiwara (Agricultural History Researcher)
・Episode 44: Reiji Ando (Literary Critic)
・Episode 45: Nikita Kadan (Artist)
・Episode 46: Kitagawa Fram “Regional Challenges and the Vision of the Art Festival”
・Episode 47: Christian Bastian (Artist), Anna Aliyeva (Curator, National Art Museum of Ukraine)
・Episode 48: Hajime Kurokawa (Writer)
・Episode 49: “Everyone’s School Project” – Rie Hirakawa (Educator)
・Episode 50: Mari Urabe (Physician / Representative, Uzawa International Academy)
・Episode 51: Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
・Episode 52: Yasuhiro Taguchi (3710Lab Minato Lab, General Incorporated Association)
・Episode 53: Sei Hara (Linguistic Sociologist)
・Episode 54: “Everyone’s School” Project
・Special Edition (Episode 55): Forms of Reconstruction Opened Up by Art—From Oku-Noto and Suzu (Featuring: Kaitaro Abe (Composer), Keishi Nagatsuka (Director), Yoshimitsu Ikeyanai (Chairman, Suzu Chongari Research Society))
Episode 55: Special Episode—Kaitaro Abe, Keishi Nagatsuka, Yoshimitsu Ikeyanai
Episode 56: Hideyo Sengoku

Click here for past event reports

A Look Back at Past Flam School Sessions (Season 2)

December 13, 2021 Keizo Oku

(Left) October 11, 2021: Yoshiki Nanjo, Kiyoshi Kawamura / (Right) November 22, 2021: Oriza Hirata

A Look Back at Past Flam School Sessions (Season 1)

December 27, 2020: Cleaning and Maintenance Workshop for Komatsu Kosei’s artwork “Winter Circlet”

November 1, 2020: “Australia House” Fall Gathering (Snow Fencing)

October 20, 2020: Environmental Improvement Workshop Featuring Takano Landscape as the Instructor

Saturday, October 3, 2020: Kawamata Tadashi Artwork Workshop at the Shimizu Museum

Sunday, September 13, 2020: Cleanup Workshop at “POTEMKIN,” an artwork by the Architect Office Casagrande & Rintala

Sunday, August 30, 2020: Rice Harvesting Workshop

Saturday, August 22: Matsudai Castle Cleanup Workshop with Author Kurakake Junichi

Saturday, August 22: Workshop with Author Kurakake Junichi to Carve His Artwork “Offerings from the earth”

Friday, July 24: Cleanup Workshop with Author Asai Yusuke and His artwork “Choma” (photo by Noriko YONEAYMA)

Booking On-line

Summary

Date and time	Friday, July 31, 2026, 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:50 p.m.)
Venue	[Location] Art Front Gallery (Daikanyama / Zoom participation available) Hillside Terrace Building A, 29-18 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033
Admission	・Venue attendance (Adults): 2,000 yen ・Venue attendance (Students): 500 yen ・Annual membership (Adults): 15,000 yen (flat-rate plan) ・Annual membership (Students): 5,000 yen (flat-rate plan)

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