At the heart of Roppongi Art Night 2025 lies an impressive constellation of works by both Japanese and international artists, transforming the neighborhood into a vibrant canvas of installations, performances, and interactive projects. Anchored at Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown, and the National Art Center, the festival highlights large-scale public art, immersive experiences, and innovative cross-cultural encounters.

Jibin Im, You Are Not Alone

RAN Focus: Republic of Korea marks this year’s thematic centerpiece, celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Korea. Among the featured artists is Ayoung Kim, recipient of the 2025 LG Guggenheim Award, who will present Delivery Dancer’s Arc: 0º Receiver (2024) on a monumental LED screen at Roppongi Hills Arena. This cinematic work, blending CGI and speculative fiction, envisions futuristic Seoul through themes of technology, labor, and identity. Sculptor Jaewon Kang contributes otherworldly inflatable works, including Exo2_crop_xl, whose metallic sheen belies their fragile, air-filled structure. Meanwhile, Jibin Im populates Tokyo Midtown with his iconic Bear Balloon series from his ongoing EVERYWHERE project, playful public art that turns daily urban encounters into whimsical museum moments. Completing the Korean lineup, percussion ensemble TAGO electrifies the streets with thunderous drum performances, while circus artist Namjae Seo invites audiences to co-create his participatory piece POLOSSEUM.

Kai Ono, Prism-Aureola

Beyond RAN Focus, the festival radiates across the district with large-scale projects that blur art and city life. At Roppongi Hills, Takakuni Kawahara unveils Quantum Resonance, a 10-meter ink painting on handmade washi embedded with electronic circuits, reimagining Japanese craft for the digital age. Gieh-Wen Lin presents The Red Dinosaur and The Green Dinosaur, playful textile-and-metal sculptures inspired by her children. At the same site, Kai Ono’s Prism-Aureola transforms natural phenomena into monumental sculptural form, while Indonesian artist Ari Bayuaji’s Weaving the Ocean repurposes discarded fishing ropes into luminous textile works with a message of sustainability.

Tokyo Midtown extends the festival’s dialogue between tradition and innovation. Alongside Im’s joyful inflatables, Mariko Kobayashi’s Tree Shower installation celebrates the water cycle with delicate embroidery, clay, and washi. Up-and-coming artists Emiri Nakada and Lina Machida bring video-based interventions to everyday spaces, while a special stage program pairs traditional instruments like shamisen and shakuhachi with DJs and electronic performers.

The National Art Center, Tokyo, showcases projects of both critical and spectacular scale. Yukina Komiya’s IT’S A PEACE OF CAKE (10XL) greets visitors with an edible-inflatable hybrid that juxtaposes contradictory symbols of peace and violence, while the major exhibition “Prism of the Real” reflects on Japan’s artistic evolution between 1989 and 2010. Adding a dazzling counterpoint, “BVLGARI KALEIDOS: Colors, Cultures and Crafts” displays over 350 masterworks of jewelry where craftsmanship meets global aesthetics.