Kyoto as a Global Art City

Kyoto, with its long history and unique atmosphere that remains preserved to the present day. Traditional entertainment and crafts live on while at the same time it is also a lively center for international contemporary art, photography, and performance, with cultural events held daily. The closing talk will explore the potential of Kyoto as an international art city, taking into consideration the many factors surrounding Kyoto, how to preserve its tradition and existing landscape while making the most of its position as a world-class cultural center.

Speakers:
Tomoharu Inoue (Board Chairman of Culture Vision Japan Foundation Inc.)
Takatoshi Nishiwaki (Governer of Kyoto Prefecture)
Yuki Terase (Founding Partner of Art Intelligence Global)

Moderator: Yukako Yamashita (Program Director of Art Collaboration Kyoto)

Speakers’ Profiles

Tomoharu Inoue
Tomoharu Inoue (b. 1955, Osaka, Japan) became Chairman of Culture Vision Japan Foundation Inc. (CVJ) in February 2015.
CVJ began activities working towards achieving a country of culture and art in 2014. As a platform where the creative, industry, government, and academic members of Japan’s culture and art fields come together, it carries out a range of cultural and economic strategy programs. Currently, Inoue is involved with several corporations, as President of Inoue Business Consultants Co., Ltd., Chairman of Bijutsu Shuppan-Sha Co., Ltd., Director of Rakuten Baseball, Inc. and more. He also worked as Deputy Owner of Rakuten Baseball, Inc. and Board Chairperson of Pacific League.
He has also been Board Chairman of Japan Society of Sports Industry, Visiting Professor, Waseda University Business School of Commerce (Business Major), and Guest Senior Researcher, Waseda University Comprehensive Research Organization.

Takatoshi Nishiwaki
Takatoshi Nishiwaki (B. 1955, Kyoto, Japan) graduated from University of Tokyo and joined the Ministry of Construction in 1979. After working as Deputy Director-General of the Road Bureau, Director-General of the Policy Bureau, Chief Cabinet Secretary, and a Vice-Minister for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport before becoming the Vice-Minister of the Reconstruction Agency in 2016. In April 2018, he was elected Governor of Kyoto Prefecture. In April 2022 he was re-elected, and began his second term. He also holds many official positions including Deputy Chairman of the Union of Kansai Governments, and Deputy Director of the National Governors’ Association COVID-19 Emergency Countermeasures Headquarters.

Yuki Terase
Yuki Terase began her art career at Sotheby’s in 2011 and was appointed Head of Contemporary Art, Asia, in 2018. During her tenure, Yuki drove Hong Kong’s bi-annual contemporary art auctions into $100 million+ events and secured market leadership in Asia for seven consecutive seasons.
In addition to overseeing record-breaking sales of works by major Asian contemporary artists, Yuki established new benchmarks for Western art in Asia and was instrumental in placing numerous blue-chip works into prominent private and institutional collections. Known for her innovative curatorial approach, Yuki worked with a number of cultural leaders in organizing pioneering themed auctions that influenced collecting habits in the Asian market. Prior to joining Sotheby’s, Yuki worked at Morgan Stanley’s Mergers and Acquisition advisory team in Tokyo.

Yukako Yamashita
Born in Tokyo in 1988 to a family that runs a tea ceremony utensils business in Kyoto.
After graduating from Keio University, she completed an MA in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. From 2011 to 2017, she interned at Sotheby’s London Chinese Works of Art Department before joining Sotheby’s Japan, where she oversaw the sales of contemporary art. She was primarily involved in the collection and sales of Japanese postwar art at auction in Europe. She founded the gallery THE CLUB in 2017. She has been a visiting professor at Kyoto University of the Arts since 2020.