Lieko Shiga’s “Nanumo Kanumo” Opens October 31 at the Aomori Museum of Art: Her Second Solo Exhibition in Tohoku, 15 Years After the Disaster

At the Aomori Museum of Art (Aomori City), Lieko Shiga’s solo exhibition “Lieko Shiga: Nanumo Kanumo” began on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Running until Sunday, March 14, 2027, it is held under the banner of the museum’s 20th anniversary and 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake. It presents old and new works that Shiga, based in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, has created from her insights into the land, history, voices and landscapes of Tohoku. Composed of photographs, video, texts and installations, it also includes new works.

Lieko Shiga’s biography

Shiga was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1980. She graduated from Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London, in 2004. For her photobooks “Lilly” and “CANARY” (both published in 2007), she received the 33rd Kimura Ihei Award in 2008. The photography exhibition commemorating the award’s 50th edition is on view at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum until November 23.

Drawn to the landscape of pine groves on the Miyagi coast in 2006, she moved to the Kitakama district of Natori City in 2008. Though affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, she presented the photo series “Rasen Kaigan” (Spiral Shore) with the cooperation of the local community. In 2012–13, she held the solo exhibition “Rasen Kaigan” at sendai mediatheque.

In 2019, she held the solo exhibition “Human Spring” at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. She has also taken part in “New Photography” (2015) at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the 8th Yokohama Triennale (2024).

She also received the Tokyo Contemporary Art Award (2021–23), and as the award exhibition held the two-person exhibition “To Me, Who Cannot Be Judged” with Kota Takeuchi at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. In 2025, she received the first Umehara Takeshi Prize for Human Philosophy.

Why a solo exhibition in Tohoku now?

The exhibition is positioned as her long-awaited second solo exhibition in Tohoku since “Rasen Kaigan.” According to the museum, it will be the largest solo exhibition of her career.

The organizers’ materials cite as background today’s society, in which even the memory of an unprecedented disaster is fading and divisions are deepening. On that basis, they position the exhibition as a place where Shiga expresses, with her whole being, the “now” that becomes visible through the process of recovery from the disaster and its realities.

The title “Nanumo Kanumo” is a dialect expression handed down on the Sanriku coast. It is a word of great depth whose meaning opens up, depending on who uses it and in what setting, to things like “each and every thing” or “a sigh at the bottom of the deep sea.” The exhibition shows works about the lands of Miyagi, Fukushima, Yamagata, Akita, Iwate and Aomori.

What can be seen? A reconfigured “Nanumo Kanumo” and new works shot in Tohoku

The exhibition uses all of the special exhibition galleries. The 2025 work “Nanumo Kanumo” consists of images and a story entrusted to a fictional figure, “Enao.” It was shown at the Artizon Museum in 2025–26. In this exhibition, it is boldly reconfigured with the help of support staff who gathered for the installation. At the Artizon Museum, the seventh “Jam Session,” featuring Hikaru Fujii, has been on since October 24; it is introduced in our article on Hikaru Fujii’s “WHOSE LIGHT?”.

“Where That Night Connects” (2022) and “When the Wind Blows” (2022–23) are shown in versions for this exhibition consisting of images and texts. New photographs and videos shot in Aomori and elsewhere in Tohoku are also added. The official website shows images including the single-channel video “Ishinomaki Minamihama” (2026). The museum shop carries goods from places and makers connected with ENA, Shiga’s studio in Ishinomaki.

Related events: talks on Tohoku, nuclear power and energy

During the exhibition, talks guided by Shiga and other events are held. They are basically free with no reservation required, but an exhibition ticket is needed. An opening talk takes place from 14:00 to 15:00 on Saturday, October 31.

At “Me and ‘Tohoku’” on Saturday, November 21, historical sociologist Akemi Yamauchi and Shiga hold a cross talk. “Me and ‘Nuclear’” on Sunday, November 22 features ethicist Yuki Miyamoto and artist Toshie Takeuchi. “Me and ‘Energy’” on Saturday, December 5 includes a lecture by Hiroko Ishii and a rocket stove-building workshop (reservation required, materials about 10,000 yen). At “Me and ‘Images’” on Saturday, January 9, 2027, curator Masashi Kohara and Shiga talk together.

Tickets, prices and access; three days of Night Museum

Admission is 1,700 yen for adults and 1,200 yen for university students, and free for those aged 18 and under and high school students. Advance tickets are sold through Lawson Ticket (L-code 21356) at 1,500 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for university students. Set tickets with the collection exhibition (adults 2,060 yen, university students 1,320 yen) are available as same-day tickets only.

Opening hours are 9:30 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30). On Saturday, November 14, Saturday, December 19 and Saturday, January 16, 2027, the museum stays open until 20:00 as a Night Museum (last entry 19:30). Closing days are specified by date; note the consecutive closures from Thursday, December 24 to Thursday, December 31 and from Saturday, February 13 to Thursday, February 25, 2027.

To reach the museum, take the “Nebutan-go” route bus from the East Exit of JR Shin-Aomori Station (about 10 minutes), or an Aomori City Bus bound for the Sannai-Maruyama Site from JR Aomori Station (about 20 minutes), getting off at “Kenritsu Bijutsukan-mae.” There is free parking for about 350 standard vehicles. Elsewhere in Aomori Prefecture, “Welcome Back, Nancy Seki!” is on in the museum’s collection exhibition until December 23, and the Steve Bishop exhibition begins at the Towada Art Center on December 5.

Overview

Name: Aomori Museum of Art 20th Anniversary / 15 Years Since the Great East Japan Earthquake: “Lieko Shiga: Nanumo Kanumo”
Dates: Saturday, October 31, 2026 – Sunday, March 14, 2027
Hours: 9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30). Until 20:00 on Saturday, November 14, Saturday, December 19 and Saturday, January 16, 2027 (last entry 19:30)
Closed: November 9 (Mon) and 24 (Tue), December 14 (Mon) and 24 (Thu) – 31 (Thu), 2026; January 1 (Fri), 12 (Tue) and 25 (Mon), February 8 (Mon) and 13 (Sat) – 25 (Thu), and March 8 (Mon), 2027
Venue: Aomori Museum of Art, all special exhibition galleries
Address: 185 Chikano, Yasuda, Aomori City
Admission: Same-day tickets: adults 1,700 yen, university students 1,200 yen (groups of 20 or more: adults 1,500 yen, university students 1,000 yen). Advance tickets (Lawson Ticket): adults 1,500 yen, university students 1,000 yen. Free for those aged 18 and under and high school students, and people with physical or mental disabilities plus one companion
Organizer: Lieko Shiga Exhibition Executive Committee (Aomori Museum of Art, Aomori Broadcasting Corporation, Aomori Television, Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Aomori Prefecture Tourism and International Exchange Organization)
Official website: https://www.aomori-museum.jp/schedule/18042/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Entrance of the Aomori Museum of Art, January 2010 (photo: yisris / Yuichi, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on materials released by the Lieko Shiga Exhibition Executive Committee and information on the official website (as of October 19, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team