MAM future and the arts

There are many exhibitions to visit during this winter, but The Mori Art Museum is the go-to place if you’re looking for something artistic, educational, and interactive. Located right next to the well-known Roppongi Toho Cinema, the Mori Art Museum is impossible to miss with its imposing glass architecture. 

Currently, the most popular exhibition taking place is the “Future and the Arts”, which is open every day from 10:00 am to 9:30 pm until March 29th. Over 60 international artists and project organizations have gathered together to display their artwork which revolves around the concepts of “AI, Robotics, Cities, Life—How Humanity Will Live Tomorrow”. 

This exhibition is split into five sections which consist of the themes “New Possibilities of Cities”, “Toward Neo-Metabolism Architecture”, “Lifestyle and Design Innovations”, “Human Augmentation and Ethical Issues”,  and “Society and Human Transformation”. Ranging from miniature models that display the step-by-step creation of futuristic buildings to the five-meter tall digitalized monolith combined with a high-quality soundtrack, I guarantee that you will be astounded by the cutting-edge technology.   Unlike many other museum exhibitions, this exhibition allows you to take photos of the artworks as well as videos that are up to one-minute long that you can later share with your friends and families.

While walking around the gallery, I couldn’t help but let my mind drift to the infinite possibilities available to us in the future. I watched as children petted the Sony-manufactured robotic dog, AIBO, and caught adults whispering to each other and gaping at the digital sushi printer (Sushi Singularity). There were also some radical ideas for pressing issues such as the rapid increase in the human population and global warming, which gave us a glimpse of what could soon be considered our new home: aquatic cities and Mars colonies. 

There is one thing I should warn you about which is that this exhibition explores the unknown world of AI, and there may be some content that some may find disturbing. I found myself feeling unsettled by the eery AI robot which I could have sworn was staring at me incessantly from across the room. If you’re slightly on the sensitive side, you might find that just a quick glance at certain artworks is more than enough.

The things I saw in sci-fi movies as a child are now becoming a reality, and I can’t help but be in awe of what the future holds for us.