Steve Bishop Exhibition at Towada Art Center from December 5; Three Films, Including a New Work Premiering Worldwide

“Steve Bishop: Three Films about Buildings” opens at Towada Art Center (Towada City, Aomori Prefecture) on Saturday, December 5, 2026, and runs until Wednesday, March 31, 2027. It is a solo exhibition of Steve Bishop, born in Toronto in 1983 and based in London, and according to the museum it is the artist’s first solo exhibition at a museum in Asia. Three video works on the theme of buildings are shown, including the world premiere of the new work “Stolen From The People” (2026), shot in an English village whose residents were forcibly evacuated during World War II.

Who is Steve Bishop? An artist who films buildings and “absence”

Bishop was born in Toronto, Canada, and completed a degree in sculpture at the Royal College of Art in London in 2008. Recent solo exhibitions include “1971-2026” (2026) at madame leniou in London. Bishop also held “Start Over Every Morning” (2025) at Daniel Faria Gallery in Toronto and “On The Street Where You Live” (2024) at Kunsthalle Osnabrück in Germany.

Group exhibitions include “Imagining Kunsthalle: Routinen” (2026) at Kunsthalle Appenzell in Switzerland and “Maybe we could both belong” (2025) at Den Frie in Copenhagen. In 2024, Bishop also took part in “Foreverism: Endless Horizons” at the Ilmin Museum of Art in Seoul.

In a statement contributed to the museum’s press materials, the artist describes this as the first exhibition in their career to focus solely on video works. All three works look at the outer forms of spaces that enclose daily life, such as buildings and villages, and at times go inside. The people who live there never appear, and that very absence raises a range of questions, the artist says.

Why “buildings without inhabitants” in Towada?

According to the museum, buildings without inhabitants, such as houses left vacant for long periods and homes bought for investment or as second homes, have become a serious social problem not only in Japan but in countries around the world. In Towada City, too, population decline has increased the number of uninhabited buildings and vacant lots. Towada Art Center was born as part of the city’s measures to address this hollowing-out. The museum says it opened in 2008 as the first contemporary art museum in Tohoku.

The museum also touches on changes in nature. With the decline of forestry, driven in part by increased imports of foreign timber, nature has returned to untended land. Wild bears and deer have increased, and animals such as the Japanese serow, a Special Natural Monument, have begun to appear even in urban areas.

According to the artist, the new work documents an English village near where the artist grew up, a place transformed by larger forces. On visiting Towada, the artist realized that similar forces had also changed the society and politics of this place, which is one reason for wanting to present the work here. The artist says they especially want the people who live in Towada to see it.

What can be seen? Three films

The museum is known for its “house for art” layout, in which each independent gallery displays only one work, and this exhibition follows that format. The venue will become a space in which visitors can immerse themselves in image and sound.

“Stolen From The People” (2026)

The latest work, premiering worldwide. It was shot in Imber, a small English village whose residents were forcibly evacuated by the military in 1943. The residents were never allowed to return, and the village now lies at the center of a vast military training area. St Giles’ Church, which escaped purchase by the military, remains consecrated and is maintained by volunteers.

It was made in collaboration with Jack Vickridge, a Glasgow-based artist and musician. The music is based on the sound of the bells of St Giles’ Church, one of the few elements of the village still in use since its residents left. According to the museum, it is the first time a soundtrack has been composed for a specific work by Bishop.

“Meanwhile…” (2008)

A work that reconstructs footage of residential streets inserted into episodes of American sitcoms of the 1990s.

“The Caretaker” (2018)

A work capturing a small town in northern Canada that continues to be maintained even after all its residents left following the closure of a nearby mine. The museum mentions the caretaker who keeps looking after a town where no one lives and the volunteers who keep a church consecrated within a military training area, and writes that buildings remain standing as long as someone continues to care for them.

Tickets, prices, access and related events

Admission is 1,800 yen for adults (including the permanent collection) and 1,600 yen for groups of 20 or more, and free for high school students and younger. Opening hours are 9:00–17:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is closed on Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a national holiday), over the year-end and New Year holidays from December 28 to January 1, and from January 12 to 15 for maintenance.

On the opening day, Saturday, December 5, the artist will give a talk from 14:00 to 14:40 in the museum’s community activity space. Participation is free, but a ticket for the special exhibition is required; no application is needed. Before the opening, on Thursday, December 3, there will be a social gathering for members of the museum’s membership program “TAPS” with the artist and curator Eriko Nagao. The fee is 700 yen, and applications are accepted until Wednesday, November 25. Trial participation is also available for those considering joining.

From the West Exit of Hachinohe Station, take the JR Bus Oirase-go bound for “Lake Towada (Yasumiya)” for about 40 minutes and get off at “Towada Art Center-mae.” From Stop 1 at the South Exit of Shichinohe-Towada Station, the Towada Kanko Electric Railway bus bound for “Sanbongi Office” takes about 35 minutes to “Towada Art Center-mae.” Another route is the Towada Kanko Electric Railway bus bound for “Motomachi-higashi” from Stop 5 at the East Exit of Hachinohe Station, about 60 minutes to “Kanchogai-dori,” followed by a 5-minute walk. Exhibitions in Aomori Prefecture overlapping with this one include Lieko Shiga’s solo exhibition “Nanumo Kanumo” at the Aomori Museum of Art (until March 14, 2027) and “Yoshitake Shinsuke Exhibition, Maybe” at Hachinohe Art Museum (until January 11, 2027).

Overview

Name: Steve Bishop: Three Films about Buildings
Dates: Saturday, December 5, 2026 – Wednesday, March 31, 2027
Hours: 9:00–17:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a national holiday), December 28 – January 1, January 12–15
Venue: Towada Art Center
Address: 10-9 Nishi-nibancho, Towada City, Aomori Prefecture
Admission: Adults 1,800 yen (including the permanent collection), groups of 20 or more 1,600 yen, high school students and younger free
Organizer: Towada Art Center
Grants: The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, The Nomura Foundation
Supported by: Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Aomori Television Broadcasting, Aomori Broadcasting Corporation, FM Aomori, The Daily Tohoku, The To-o Nippo Press, Towada Oirase Tourism Organization, Towada City Board of Education, British Council
Curator: Eriko Nagao
Official website: https://towadaartcenter.com/exhibitions/steve_bishop/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Exterior of Towada Art Center, April 2008 (photo: Wakkubox, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from Towada Art Center (October 15, 2026) and information on its official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team