KYOTO.- The fifth edition of Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK) concluded today, following four days of vibrant sales and dialogue between Japan’s art community and the international art world. Held at the Kyoto International Conference Center (ICC Kyoto) from November 14 to 16, 2025, with a preview day on November 13, the fair hosted 72 galleries from 19 countries and regions, including 25 first-time exhibitors, marking its largest and most globally diverse edition to date. Collectors, curators, and institutional representatives from Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa, and the Middle East gathered in Kyoto for a week that reaffirmed the city’s growing importance as a nexus for culture and exchange. Once again, the fair operated under bonded status, allowing international exhibitors to be exempt from the 10% sales tax that otherwise would have been imposed pre-sale. ACK will return to Kyoto from November 7 to 9, 2026, with a preview day on November 6.
Established in 2021, Art Collaboration Kyoto continues to redefine the art-fair format through its emphasis on partnership and cultural context. This year’s theme, “2050—Gaze Toward the Future,” set by Fair Director Yukako Yamashita, envisioned a world shaped by collaborative intelligence, long-term cultural perspective, and inclusivity. Across both sections—Gallery Collaborations and Kyoto Meetings—participants responded with presentations that bridged generations, media, and geographies.
Yukako Yamashita commented: “This year affirmed our position as one of the most integral fairs in the region, and it also hinted at what the future of art fairs can look like: collegial, collaborative, and connected, while maintaining the highest rigor in all aspects. Our visitors shared that every element of the fair felt more thoughtful and refined, from the caliber of the works on view to the booth layout and collector engagement. We saw robust sales and thoughtful conversations across the halls, and a level of energy that reflects how far the fair has come. The presence and purchasing power of Asian collectors, including from Japan, Taiwan, and Korea, was particularly meaningful. As Asia’s art scene continues to evolve with various hubs arising, our fair is increasingly recognized as a key destination.”
This year, the fair introduced the Bangkok Collaborate Kyoto Fellowship (BCK Fellowship), established in partnership with Bangkok Kunsthalle. All artists exhibiting at ACK 2025 were considered for the fellowship by a jury including: Marisa Chearavanont, Founder and President of Khao Yai Art Co. Ltd, which oversees both Bangkok Kunsthalle and Khao Yai Art Forest; Stefano Rabolli Pansera, Artistic Director of Bangkok Kunsthalle and Khao Yai Art Forest; artist Yutaka Sone, the inaugural artist-in-residence at Khao Yai Art Forest; and Yukako Yamashita, ACK’s Fair Director. During the fair week, the jury selected two artists exhibiting at ACK 2025—WangShui at kurimanzutto and Takuro Tamayama at Anomaly. The two winning artists are offered a month-long residency and exhibition in Bangkok, fostering cross-cultural exchange and new creative pathways in the region.
The jury of BCK Fellowship remarked: “In selecting the awardees, we looked for artists whose practices resonate deeply with the curatorial and ideological vision of Bangkok Kunsthalle and Art Collaboration Kyoto: a vision of experimentation, healing, and the re-imagination of cultural systems. WangShui was selected for their extraordinary ability to bring together technology and spirituality, merging advanced imaging, algorithmic processes, and cinematic forms with a contemplative, almost ritual dimension. Their work proposes new ways of healing—of the body, the city, and the digital imaginary—showing how art can mediate between the technological and the transcendent. Takuro Tamayama was selected for his remarkable capacity to work within the interstitial spaces of the art fair, those often-overlooked thresholds and corridors, and to transform them into unexpected, multi-sensory worlds. His installations destabilize the familiar, opening passages into new perceptual and emotional territories. In doing so, he reveals the potential of liminal space as a site of wonder and renewal.”
Artist WangShui said: “I am truly honored that my work has been selected for this fellowship at ACK, a beautiful art fair featuring so many remarkable artists. Each artist creates their work with so much love and dedication, and it means a lot to me that the jury evaluated the works with such respect. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to kurimanzutto and to all the jurors of the BCK Fellowship. I am extremely excited to be in Bangkok soon.”
Artist Takuro Tamayama said: “I am truly grateful to all the jurors for taking the time to engage so sincerely with the works on view at the fair, and for selecting me for this wonderful fellowship. My practice involves transforming spaces and environments into artworks themselves. For that reason, the Bangkok Kunsthalle as a space is deeply inspiring and appealing to me, and I am already very excited about the possibilities ahead. Thank you very much once again for this great honor.”
In the Gallery Collaborations section, 29 Japan-based galleries partnered with 30 international peers in shared booths, creating unique curatorial dialogues. Highlights included: first-time exhibitors space Un (Tokyo) and Retro Africa (Abuja) highlighted artists whose work embodies dynamic formal exploration, such as Senegalese painter and sculptor Serigne Mbaye Camara, and Lagos-based sculptor, curator, and product designer Ugo Ahiakwo. Shibunkaku (Kyoto, Tokyo) and Mendes Wood DM (São Paulo, Brussels, New York, Paris) spotlighted the collaboration between contemporary Latin American artists and post-war Japanese abstraction and avant-garde calligraphy. CON_ (Tokyo) and first-time exhibitor Arario Gallery (Seoul, Cheonan, Shanghai) joined forces to present a cross-cultural dialogue through works by Lim Nosik, Noh Sangho, and Yukino Yamanaka, offering a resonant perspective on expressions that reflect the unsettled conditions of our time. Yoshiaki Inoue Gallery (Osaka) and first-time exhibitor Silverlens (Manila, New York) presented a thoughtful exhibition bringing together five artists whose diverse practices explore memory, existence, and the quiet complexities of life across cultures and geographies. Mitochu Koeki Co. (Tokyo) and Annely Juda Fine Art (London) staged a visual dialogue between David Hockney and Japanese ceramic artists Aya Hatano, Eriko Inazaki, Makiko Hattori, and Rie Aizawa.
Kyoto Meetings featured 13 local and international gallery booths whose presentations have connections to the historic city of Kyoto, offering an opportunity to explore its culture from varied perspectives. kurimanzutto (Mexico City, New York) presented The Breathing Threshold by WangShui, an immersive installation that echoes Kyoto’s fluid interplay of history, architecture, and atmosphere. Johyun Gallery (Busan, Seoul) staged a group presentation including works by Lee Bae, Kim Taek Sang, Lee Kwang-Ho, and Bosco Sodi. First-time exhibitors in this sector included GALLERY SIDE 2 (Tokyo), which presented a solo showcase of new works by Takeo Hanazawa, whose playful yet contemplative practice translates his experiences in Kyoto into a dynamic mix of prints, paintings, and drawings; and Raster (Warsaw) that brought together works by Kyoto-based Kazuhito Tanaka, Berlin-based Slawomir Elsner, and Warsaw-based Janek Simon.
