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Tokyo art gallery encourages visitors to steal its art

Katie Pask Jun 20, 2020
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Become a real life art thief without any consequences!

The Same Gallery in Tokyo’s Shinagawa neighborhood is holding a special exhibition featuring a myriad of artists from all over the world, but with a special twist. On July 10, the gallery will be stripped of any kind of staff or security and visitors to the gallery will be able to ‘steal’ any piece of work. Entitled ‘Stealable Art Exhibition‘, guests will freely be able to take home any art that takes their fancy without any consequences. The gallery says that the exhibition will serve as a commentary on the disadvantages of keeping certain art cordoned off. While this exhibit is sure to catch the attention of art fans, the gallery also hopes to attract people who just need a fresh painting for their house, or even those who have secretly harboured a dream to become an art thief.

▼ Hey, if he says it’s OK, then knock yourself out!

All artists who are submitting work to the exhibit are well aware that their pieces will likely be ‘stolen’, so what kind of art will they make? The exhibition website currently lists eleven different artists who will be exhibiting their work, including Joji Nakamura, whose work looks like this.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by joji nakamura (@joji_nakamura)

The exhibition will be open 24 hours daily until July 19, or until all of the art pieces have been ‘stolen’. Of course, while there will be no security on the premises during the course of the exhibition, there are a few rules to follow; only one piece of art per person can be ‘stolen’, so be sure to ‘steal’ responsibly so that other potential art thieves can get in on the fun as well. For any budding artists that want to try getting their art ‘stolen’ too, bad news; the exhibition does not allow any outside art to be brought in to be stolen. The gallery also reminds you that when you are ‘stealing’ art, please do so quietly as so to not disturb other guests. Of course, all the best art thieves have impeccable manners.

While you won’t be breaking the law by taking any of the art home, the gallery will be recording the entire event via surveillance cameras. The footage will likely be uploaded to the Internet, so if you want to protect your privacy/avoid being identified as an art thief, please wear a mask or some other sort of disguise.

Japanese netizens were amused and intrigued by the exhibition.

“I wonder if the art will survive even the first day?”
“I’m off to buy a crowbar!”
“I think that the people ‘stealing’ will in itself be a piece of art, too!”
“This is hilarious!”
“If the art isn’t being protected at all, it doesn’t really feel like stealing. I want it to be more like Cops and Robbers!”

So what do you think, SoraNews24 readers? If you went to a gallery that let its visitors freely take the art displayed home as they please, would you do it? Would you prefer to just see it in a gallery with other art? If you don’t manage to get to the gallery in time to snatch up a painting, there are plenty of other galleries for you to check out. You definitely can’t take home any of the art in these ones though!

Location information
Same Gallery
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinagawa-ku, Ebara 4-6-7
東京都品川区荏原４－６－７
Website

Source: Same Gallery via Jin
Featured Image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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