Open Forum 2020

Date & Time

Thursday, February 6, 2020 16:00~19:00 (Open 15:30)

Venue

THE CORE KITCHEN/SPACE (Shinbashi 4-1 -1, Minato-ku, Tokyo)

Sponsor

Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture Arts Council Tokyo

As a stage actor and director, he was involved in more than 40 productions and served as artistic director of various theaters. In addition to his artistic career, he has held senior positions in public institutions, including President of Syndeac (National Union of Arts and Culture Enterprises), Director of Theatre, Street Art and Circus Art at the Ministry of Culture and Communications, and Director of the National Theatre Centre (2010 – 2013). From 2014 to 2018, he served as Special Adviser for Cultural Events under current Mayor Anne Italgo, and has been in his current position since 2019.

As the city's first Chief Design Officer, appointed by current Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, he is engaged in policy development for architecture, landscape design, urban planning and the public realm of the future. Before starting in Los Angeles, he was an architectural critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2004 to early 2018. He has also been a professor at Occidental University since 2015, where he directed the Third Los Angeles Project, a series of public conversations about architecture, urban planning, and mobility in response to demographic change in Southern California.

After working on ecological land use planning, he founded P3 art and environment in 1989. It was based in the underground auditorium in the precincts of Tocho-ji Temple until 99, and since then has been developing various art and environment-related projects without specifying the location. Served as general director of Tokachi International Contemporary Art Exhibition Demeter (2002), curator of Yokohama Triennale 2005, general director of Beppu Contemporary Art Festival Mixed Hot Spring World (2009, 2012, 2015), director of Saitama Triennale 2016, etc.

Born in Shimane Prefecture. Graduated from Kansai University of Foreign Studies. While in college, he joined Tower Records Co., Ltd. and became president in 2005.　In the same year, he established Napster Japan Co., Ltd. and concurrently served as the representative director. After serving as a chief advisor to Tower Records, he founded ORIGINAL Inc. in 2007 and became its representative director. In 2009, he opened Time Out Tokyo and became the representative. Japan Tourism Agency Advisory Board, Member of the "Council on the Revitalization of Nighttime Tourism Resources", Expert Member of the Tokyo Council for the Arts Cultural Program Promotion Subcommittee, Member of the East Asian Cultural City 2019 Teshima Executive Committee, Member of the Toshima Ward After the Theater Roundtable Committee, Vice-Chairperson, Liberal Democratic Party Time Market Creation Promotion (Night Time Economy) Parliamentary Advisory Board, etc., Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, He serves as a number of expert committee members in Tokyo and other countries.