Join Yūji Akimoto, Director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan, and curator of the newly opened exhibition, Japanese Kōgei | Future Forward, for an evening of conversation exploring how today’s artists are reconsidering the Japanese practice of kōgei. Roughly translated as “artisan crafts,” kōgei is a genre of traditional art that is associated with specific regions and peoples in Japan. The subject is steeped in history and rooted in upholding conventional cultural ideals and aesthetics through the mastery of specialized techniques and materials. Artists from the exhibition will join Akimoto in discussing how their work is spearheading a decisive and somewhat controversial shift from their peers.  Discover how these artists are transcending convention by incorporating a high degree of individual expression into kōgei and addressing ideas about the “future”.