Exhibition 'Tree of Collection, 36th Spring - Focusing on New Acquisitions' Dates: Apr 11 (Sat) - Jun 28 (Sun) Ashiya City Museum of Art and History

Dates: Saturday, April 11 to Sunday, June 28, 2026, 10:00 - 17:00 (Last admission at 16:30)
Closed: Mondays (except May 4, a public holiday), and Wednesday, May 7
Admission: Adults 800 (640) yen, University/High school students 500 (400) yen, Junior high school students and under free
* Prices in parentheses are for groups of 20 or more.
* Seniors (65 and over) and those holding physical/mental disability certificates or rehabilitation certificates, along with one caregiver, receive a 50% discount on the day-of admission fee.
* Sunday, April 19: Free admission for those living, studying, or working in Ashiya City (please show proof).
* Saturday, May 9, and Sunday, May 10: Free admission ("ART MARKET Ashiya Tsukuruba" will be held).
Venue: Ashiya City Museum of Art and History
Organizer: Ashiya City Museum of Art and History
Supported by: Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education, Hyogo Arts and Culture Association, Asahi Shimbun Kobe General Bureau, Kobe Shimbun, NHK Kobe Broadcasting Station, Kiss FM KOBE

Exhibition Overview
Opened on March 22, 1991, as a commemorative project for the 50th anniversary of Ashiya's city administration, our museum is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. The museum's art collection, which began gathering pieces in 1989 when the opening preparation office was established, currently totals 1,531 works. The museum systematically collects works by artists associated with Ashiya, including modern Western-style painters such as Narashige Koide, the post-war avant-garde art group Gutai Art Association, and the Ashiya Camera Club, which developed the new photography movement. When the preparation office was first established, representative works of each artist were purchased using a fund, but since 2000, the collection has been expanded through donations from the artists, their bereaved families, and related parties. In recent years, along with precious works by Narashige Koide and members of the Gutai Art Association, works by contemporary artists such as Keiji Uematsu and Yukinori Yamamura have been newly acquired.

This journey of forming the collection over a little more than 35 years is like the rich growth process of a single tree extending its trunk, spreading its branches and leaves, bearing flowers and fruits with the changing of the seasons, and attracting birds and insects. In order for this tree, rooted in the scenic land of Ashiya long sung for its white sands and green pines, to continue being a place of relaxation and interaction where people gather, we must protect this collection.

In this exhibition, held during the museum's 36th spring, works by 18 artists acquired since the beginning of the Reiwa era will be exhibited and unveiled alongside works acquired when the museum first opened. Through this exhibition, which looks back on the time the tree of our museum's collection has grown and the various events that surrounded this tree in the process, we would like to take this opportunity to once again think about the prospects of the collection / the future of this tree together with everyone.

Highlights
- A comprehensive exhibition of works by 18 recently acquired artists.
Visitors will view works with a variety of modern and contemporary expressions, including paintings, prints, 3D objects, and videos.
- For each artist, works recently acquired are exhibited alongside works acquired when the museum opened.
From this contrasting relationship, the history of the museum's art collection...