21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Established	October 9, 2004
Location	Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (金沢21世紀美術館, Kanazawa Nijūisseiki Bijutsukan) is a fantastic museum in Kanazawa, Japan. It's a special place where you can see amazing contemporary art.

Famous Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa from the SANAA office designed the museum. It opened its doors in 2004. Just one year later, in October 2005, over 1.5 million people had visited! Even with fewer visitors in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was still one of the top ten most-visited art museums in the whole world!

The Amazing Museum Building

Leandro Erlich's "The Swimming Pool" from above and below

This museum is right in the middle of Kanazawa city. It's close to the beautiful Kenroku-en garden. The building itself is shaped like a giant circle, about 112.5 meters wide.

This round shape makes the museum look friendly and not too big. It also means you can enter from many different spots! The building has lots of glass, so you can see inside easily. This makes it feel open and welcoming, not like a closed-off box.

Inside, you'll find cool spaces for everyone. There's a library, a lecture hall, and even a workshop just for kids! These community areas are around the outside of the circle. The art exhibition rooms are in the middle.

The art galleries come in all shapes and sizes. Some have bright natural light from glass ceilings. Others have no natural light at all, making the art stand out. The ceilings are different heights too, from 4 to 12 meters! Even the hallways are designed so they can be used to show art.

There are also four beautiful glass courtyards inside. Each one is unique! They let in lots of sunshine and create a nice flow between the public spaces and the art areas.

What Art Can You See?

Installations, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art.

Art inside the Museum.

The museum's art collection focuses on works made since 1980. These artworks are chosen because they show "new values" and fresh ideas.

Many artists are asked to create special art pieces just for this museum. These are called site-specific installations. This means the art is made to fit perfectly in its spot in the museum or the Kanazawa area.

Some of the amazing artists whose work you can see include:

• Francis Alys
• Matthew Barney
• Tony Cragg
• Olafur Eliasson
• Leandro Erlich
• Isa Genzken
• Kojima Hisaya
• Gordon Matta Clark
• Peter Newman
• Carsten Nicolai
• Giuseppe Penone
• Gerhard Richter
• Murayama Ruriko
• Hiraki Sawa
• Atsuko Tanaka
• James Turrell
• Patrick Tuttofuoco
• Anne Wilson
• Suda Yoshihiro

Two very popular artworks that are always on display are:

• Leandro Erlich's Swimming Pool – it looks like a real swimming pool, but you can walk under the "water"!
• Olafur Eliasson's Color Activity House – a fun space where colors change as you move.