The National Art Center, Tokyo’s 2027 Exhibitions: Its 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Diva, Gilbert & George and More

On October 1, 2026, the National Art Center, Tokyo (Roppongi, Tokyo) announced four special exhibitions to be held in 2027. “Diva,” organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in the UK, opens on Wednesday, March 24, followed from Wednesday, April 21 by the 20th Anniversary Exhibition (provisional title). In the autumn come two exhibitions: “The Princely Collections of Liechtenstein: Antiquity in Western Art” and “Gilbert & George.” Admission and opening hours for all four had not been announced as of October 19.

The 20th Anniversary Exhibition: looking back on 113 exhibitions through six interrogatives

The National Art Center, Tokyo opened on January 21, 2007. Instead of holding a collection, it has operated as an art center that stages exhibitions in its 14,000 square meters of exhibition space, which it describes as among the largest in Japan.

The 20th Anniversary Exhibition (provisional title) will shed light on the endeavors of artists introduced in the 113 exhibitions held since the center opened. Using six interrogatives as keywords, “who,” “where,” “when,” “what,” “how” and “why,” it will reexamine art from the 19th century to the present. Works will be selected from the collections of the national art museums across Japan. The artists and number of works have not yet been announced.

What are the highlights of the Diva exhibition? About 100 divas through costumes and footage

“Diva” is an exhibition launched by the V&A in 2023. According to the organizers, it is touring five countries, and Tokyo will be its only and final venue in Asia. The official website gives it the subtitle “The Voice That Moves Me.”

Tracing the history of divas from the 19th century to the present, it explores how the concept of the “diva” has changed in relation to the history of feminism. It features about 100 singers and performers from opera, theater, film and popular music, with about 280 items including costumes and materials. About 60 of them are costumes actually worn by divas, along with photographs, footage, magazines, posters and LPs. Music and footage play throughout the venue.

Act 1, “The Birth of the Diva,” covers opera singers of the 19th century to the divas of the 20th century, introducing Sarah Bernhardt, Maria Callas, Marilyn Monroe and others. Act 2, “The Diva Reborn,” traces the period from second-wave feminism and the civil rights movement of the 1960s to the present, featuring Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and others. Content unique to the Japan exhibition will also be added.

In the autumn: the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein and Gilbert & George

“The Princely Collections of Liechtenstein: Antiquity in Western Art” presents works from the family’s collection on the theme of antiquity in Western art. The exhibits and number of works have not been announced. The center previously held “Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections” in 2012, the first exhibition in Japan of the family’s collection, which showed 139 works including 10 by Rubens (according to the center’s exhibition database “Art Commons”).

“Gilbert & George” is an exhibition of the duo formed by Gilbert, born in Italy in 1943, and George, born in the UK in 1942. Working in London under the banner of “two people, one artist,” they won the Turner Prize in 1986. The organizers describe it as their first large-scale solo exhibition in Japan in 30 years. It will present works ranging from “The Singing Sculpture” (1969), a video work in which the pair, covered in pigment, sing and dance, to the large photographic series “Pictures,” which deals with religion, sexuality and urban life. Works never before shown in Japan and photographs and footage from their visit to Japan in the 1970s are also planned. Ahead of the Tokyo exhibition, a Kyoto exhibition will be held at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art from Wednesday, May 26 to Sunday, August 29, 2027.

Tickets, prices, opening hours and access

The official websites for the Diva and Gilbert & George exhibitions have not yet posted ticket sales information either. The center’s regular opening hours are 10:00–18:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing), and it is closed on Tuesdays (if Tuesday is a public holiday or substitute holiday, it opens and closes the following weekday).

It is directly connected to Exit 6, by the Aoyama Cemetery side ticket gate, of Nogizaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, about a 4-minute walk from Exit 7 of Roppongi Station on the Toei Oedo Line and about a 5-minute walk from Exit 4a of Roppongi Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. The center is currently showing “Louvre Museum Exhibition: Renaissance” until Sunday, December 13, and from Wednesday, October 28 to Monday, February 8, 2027, “Shojo Manga Infinity: Moto Hagio × Ryoko Yamagishi × Waki Yamato.”

Editor’s perspective

Media companies are among the organizers of three of the four exhibitions: Toei for the Liechtenstein exhibition and Sony Music Entertainment for the other two. The 20th Anniversary Exhibition, by contrast, is organized by the center alone and drawn from the collections of the national art museums across Japan. It is a project in which a museum that has staged 113 exhibitions without a collection of its own looks back on its 20 years through works from the national art museums. Two exhibitions overlap in spring and summer, from April 21 to July 19, and two in the autumn, from September 17 to December 6. Other museums’ schedules are gathered in our 2027 exhibition schedule.

Overview

Name: Diva
Dates: Wednesday, March 24 – Monday, July 19 (public holiday), 2027
Venue: Special Exhibition Gallery 2E
Organizers: The National Art Center, Tokyo, Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), Sony Music Entertainment
Official website: https://diva2027.jp/

Name: The National Art Center, Tokyo 20th Anniversary Exhibition (provisional title)
Dates: Wednesday, April 21 – Monday, July 26, 2027
Venue: Special Exhibition Gallery 1E
Organizer: The National Art Center, Tokyo

Name: The Princely Collections of Liechtenstein: Antiquity in Western Art
Dates: Wednesday, September 8 – Monday, December 6, 2027
Venue: Special Exhibition Gallery 1E
Organizers: The National Art Center, Tokyo, LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Toei

Name: Gilbert & George
Dates: Friday, September 17 – Monday, December 20, 2027
Venue: Special Exhibition Gallery 2E
Organizers: The National Art Center, Tokyo, Sony Music Entertainment
Official website: https://www.gilbertandgeorge.jp

Venue: The National Art Center, Tokyo (7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Admission and hours: Not announced for any of the four
Official website: https://www.nact.jp
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Installation view of the V&A’s Diva exhibition © Victoria and Albert Museum, London (from a press release by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the National Art Center, Tokyo (October 1, 2026) and Sony Music Entertainment (July 8 and September 4, 2026), and information on each official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team