AI Artist Emi Kusano’s Solo Exhibition “End of Nostalgia” Opens November 14 in Hanno, Saitama

Emi Kusano’s solo exhibition “End of Nostalgia” will be held from Saturday, November 14, 2026, to Sunday, January 31, 2027, at HYPER MUSEUM HANNO, a contemporary art museum in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture. Kusano is an artist who incorporates AI and other new technologies into her work and has explored nostalgia, pop culture and collective memory. New works, including a large installation of stacked TV monitors, will be joined by about 25 prints, including previously unreleased works. Date-and-time-specified advance tickets go on sale on Friday, October 23.

Emi Kusano’s background

Kusano was born in Tokyo in 1990. She has shown her work in more than 20 countries, at institutions including M+ (Hong Kong), the Saatchi Gallery (London), the Grand Palais Immersif (Paris) and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and at international art fairs such as Frieze and Paris Photo. The World Economic Forum (Davos) named her a Young Global Leader in 2025 and one of its Cultural Leaders in 2026.

Her activities go beyond exhibiting work. After serving as a part-time lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts, she now sits on the Copyright Subdivision of the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Council for Cultural Affairs. Her Harajuku street snaps, the starting point of her career, have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London). She also leads the music unit “Satellite Young,” which has performed at SXSW.

What can visitors see? “Memory Metabolism” and “Ornament Survival”

The exhibition centers on new works: the huge installation “Memory Metabolism,” made of stacked TV monitors, the sculptural work “Mementoid” and the print work “Ornament Survival: Future Remains,” among others. From the “Ornament Survival” series, about 25 prints, including unreleased works, will be shown. According to the announcement, the exhibition space appears as a single installation, offering an experience as if visitors had stepped into the world of the works.

Kusano has collaborated with AI to turn “pasts and memories that might have been,” including from eras before she was born, into works. In “Ornament Survival,” she uses an AI model trained on her own face and body to have her alter ego play various social roles and characters, prizing “dissonance” and “discomfort” over faithful reproduction. Kusano herself describes bringing her own culture and experiences into AI expression as a small act of resistance, as an artist, against the homogenization of the world, and also as a form of play.

The announcement explains that as the foundations that evoke nostalgia waver, Kusano generates “memories that might have been” for the future. On Wednesday, November 18, during the exhibition, Kusano’s book “A Theory of Photography Without a Lens: End of Nostalgia” (BNN, 288 pages) is also scheduled for release.

About the venue, HYPER MUSEUM HANNO

HYPER MUSEUM HANNO is a contemporary art museum within Metsä Village, a Nordic lifestyle experience facility operated by Moomin Monogatari Ltd. Opened on March 1, 2025, it presents itself as a new-era contemporary art museum combining “nature and digital” with “character art.” Its director is Shigeo Goto, a professor at Kyoto University of the Arts, whom the announcement introduces as known for art production such as museum exhibitions of the photographer Kishin Shinoyama.

The exhibition is supported in cooperation with the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection, √K Contemporary and others. Supporters include Hanno City and the Hanno City Board of Education (through an experience project for elementary and junior high school students in the city). The broader trend of art using digital technology is also introduced in our explainer on media art.

Tickets, prices and access

All prices include tax. Advance tickets cost ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for children (ages 4–18); on the day, ¥1,200 for adults and ¥700 for children. Date-and-time-specified tickets go on sale on Friday, October 23, through asoview!, ArtSticker, Lawson Ticket and Seven Ticket. Opening hours are 10:00–17:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing), and the museum is closed from Tuesday, January 12 to Thursday, January 14, 2027.

According to the official website, it is a 13-minute bus ride from Stop 1 at the north exit of Hanno Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. Take the direct bus bound for “Metsä” or the route bus bound for “Miyazawa,” and get off at the Metsä stop. By car, it is about 5.4 km from the Sayama-Hidaka Interchange on the Ken-O Expressway. Parking is paid and cannot be reserved. Other exhibitions opening in November can be found in our November exhibition and art event calendar.

Overview

Name: Emi Kusano Exhibition “End of Nostalgia”
Dates: Saturday, November 14, 2026 – Sunday, January 31, 2027
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Tuesday, January 12 – Thursday, January 14, 2027
Venue: HYPER MUSEUM HANNO, in Metsä Village
Address: 327-6 Miyazawa, Hanno, Saitama Prefecture
Admission: Advance: adults ¥1,000, children (ages 4–18) ¥500 / On the day: adults ¥1,200, children (ages 4–18) ¥700 (tax included)
Director: Shigeo Goto
Operator: Moomin Monogatari Ltd.
Sponsor: Fintech Global Incorporated
Supporters: Hanno City, Hanno City Board of Education (experience project for elementary and junior high school students in Hanno), FM NACK5, TV Saitama
Cooperation: Takahashi Ryutaro Collection, Tsubasa Koshide, Matsui Seisakusho, √K Contemporary, Lucky Wide Co., Ltd., Sign Artec Co., Ltd., Isho Daiku Co., Ltd.
Official website: https://metsa-hanno.com/hypermuseumhanno/
*Information as of October 21, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Key visual for the Emi Kusano Exhibition “End of Nostalgia” (from Moomin Monogatari Ltd.’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on an announcement by Moomin Monogatari Ltd. (October 20, 2026) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team