21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Have you ever heard of Ishikawa? I hadn’t either until I got an email telling me I was going to be moving here for at least a year. Though I am still getting to know this new home of mine, I’ve been shocked to discover so many amazing places and things to see in this seemingly unknown part of Japan. One surprise has been the city of Kanazawa. Kanazawa is the largest city in the surrounding prefectures. It has all the perks of a big city without feeling as overwhelming as a giant metropolis, such as Tokyo, and is conveniently located about 40 minutes away from my home. I’ve just barely dipped my toe into the food and culture nestled within Kanazawa, starting with the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art.

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art has many incredible exhibitions coming and going at all times. One, which was been particularly popular and is leaving the museum at the end of August, is teamLab’s Impermanent Flowers Floating in a Continuous Sea. teamLab is an art collective, interdisciplinary group with exhibitions all over the globe, including Denmark, Shanghai, Madrid, Tokyo, and, of course, Kanazawa. They produce spectacular artwork that uses digital technology to make seeing their work an experience rather than just a stroll through a gallery.

We began by walking through a velvet curtain into a pitch black room where an introduction from teamLab about themselves and their exhibit was posted in Japanese and English. We were guided by an attendant with a flashlight through another curtain and into the next room where calming music and a rough sea crashed around us on every wall. There were mirrors all over the room, so it was impossible to differentiate where the room stopped and mirrors began. It was almost dizzying, but absolutely mesmerising.

After exploring the tangled maze of sea and mirrors, we shuffled through yet another curtain into a sparking sunset sky with flowers dancing across the wall. The mirrors on either side of the artwork gave the illusion of a never ending, playful summer garden.

The next room was a bit darker, figuratively and literally. There were black marks moving all over the walls. It was not quite as mesmerising as the other two rooms, yet still was difficult to take your eyes off of.

The final room we entered had flowers floating all over the walls and people kept walking up and putting their hands on the walls. There were tables set up in the center of the room, filled with people coloring various flowers. We walked around the crowded room for a moment and then decided we might as well enjoy coloring as well. As we colored, we began to notice that people were using machines to scan their flower drawing, and then they would walk up to the wall and place their hand on it and the flower they drew would come sprouting out of their hand. It was spectacular, and, once I finished my drawing, I was able to watch my flower grow from my hand and then see the petals fly around the room.

After leaving the museum feeling both stimulated and extremely relaxed, we strolled the surrounding area, and, of course, found ourselves at a beautiful shrine within minutes. If you ever find yourself near one of teamLab’s exhibit, I truly could not recommend the experience enough!