At the heart of the Bikan Historical Area is the Ohara Museum of Art.
The Ohara Museum of Art, one of the leading museums in Kurashiki City and Okayama Prefecture, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2030.
As it looks ahead to its centennial, the Ohara Museum of Art has announced a new slogan.
The slogan is “Everyone’s My Museum.” A new logo was announced at the same time.
What thoughts lie behind the slogan?
And what kind of museum is the Ohara Museum of Art hoping to be as it approaches its 100th anniversary?
We interviewed Akane Ohara, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Ohara Museum of Art Foundation.
Photography is normally prohibited inside the Ohara Museum of Art. Special permission was granted to take the interior photographs, which were taken in 2019.
The information presented here was current when this article was published in July 2021. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Working toward “an Ohara Museum of Art that feels close to everyone”
Could you tell us what led to the slogan?
Ohara (honorific omitted)
I had been thinking for some time about what I wanted the Ohara Museum of Art to be. My conviction that “we should make the most of our strengths as a regional museum and be an Ohara Museum of Art that feels close to everyone” has never changed.
Now that the 100th anniversary is in sight, I wanted to set out again to make this long-held vision a reality.
First, “Let’s share our vision with everyone who has supported us over the years.”
And then, “Let’s work together to create an Ohara Museum of Art that feels close to everyone.”
That’s why we announced the slogan.
Was there a particular event that made you decide to turn your vision into a slogan and announce it?
Ohara
There were several, but the outbreak of COVID-19 was a major catalyst.
That’s because about 90% of the Ohara Museum of Art’s income comes from admission fees.
You could say that the Ohara Museum of Art is run with the support of each and every visitor.
We really felt that when we had no choice but to close during states of emergency and other restrictions.
While the museum was closed, I found myself thinking more than ever about “why the Ohara Museum of Art exists…”
With the 100th anniversary in mind, we announced it as a “slogan” to help everyone move in the same direction.
What do you personally think the Ohara Museum of Art exists for?
Ohara
I want the Ohara Museum of Art to be a place that makes art lovers and local residents think, “I’m glad the Ohara Museum of Art is in Kurashiki!”
In fact, this conviction was passed down to me by the museum’s founder, Ohara Magosaburo.
The museum’s founding statement even says, “We are establishing it because we believe there is significance in its being here.”
Because we are part of the Kurashiki community, we want to respond even to the quiet voices of local people.
And as a privately run museum, I believe we have the flexibility to respond to those quiet voices.
As an aside, when we launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2020, I realized that many people support the Ohara Museum of Art as something that matters personally to them.
To fund its continued operation and keep it open to the public, the Ohara Museum of Art ran a crowdfunding campaign from October 26 to December 25, 2020. It raised ¥23,155,000, far exceeding its initial target of ¥10 million.
Over the next 10 years, I want more people to feel, “The Ohara Museum of Art is my museum.”
I believe that will also help ensure the Ohara Museum of Art’s sustainability.
Everyone’s “My Museum” is “every,” not “all”
How did you come up with the phrase “Everyone’s My Museum”?
Ohara
All the staff came up with it together.
We were brainstorming slogans so that each person living in Kurashiki City and Okayama Prefecture would feel, “The Ohara Museum of Art is my museum.”
The phrase “everyone’s museum” came up first…
Then one staff member said, “Why not put ‘my’ before ‘museum’?” and it clicked.
It’s true that “everyone’s museum” means “all,” but “everyone’s ‘My Museum’” means “every,” I thought.
We considered that and other ideas, and in the end everyone agreed on “Everyone’s My Museum.”
How did you decide on the logo?
Ohara
We created the logo to make the meaning of the slogan easier to understand.
Just as with art, I think it’s fine for each person to see something different in it or imagine it in a different color.
I’d be delighted if everyone could use their imagination and see the logo as representing their own Ohara Museum of Art.
Bringing the Ohara Museum of Art to the local community
What specific activities are you planning as you approach the 100th anniversary?
Ohara
Alongside programs at the museum, we want to continue taking the Ohara Museum of Art out to meet people where they are.
If there are 100 people, there are 100 different places where they live their lives.
Some people find it difficult to visit the Ohara Museum of Art, so the museum itself isn’t the only place where people can have a real-world experience.
I’d be delighted if visiting people in their own communities helped them think, “The Ohara Museum of Art is my museum!”
For example, I hope we can one day hold “Kurashiki’s Miracle: ‘Western Masterpieces Have Arrived!’,” which was postponed due to COVID-19.
It was an exhibition held at a nearby elementary school, featuring paintings collected by Kojima Torajiro.
In fact, the exhibition was conceived as a recreation of one held before the Ohara Museum of Art opened.
I want to reaffirm with the people of Kurashiki City the significance of having the original works here.
And I’d be delighted if children thought of the Ohara Museum of Art as a place they can drop by and enjoy as casually as a park.
Other successful initiatives included running trains in collaboration with Mizushima Rinkai Railway and Ibara Railway, and providing online content for children in hospital classrooms.
We want to continue making it a priority to go out and meet people in their own communities.
It sounds like people will be able to discover the Ohara Museum of Art everywhere!
Ohara
If people start saying, “The Ohara Museum of Art is here, too!” and “It’s over there, too!” I think the museum will come closer to becoming “Everyone’s My Museum.”
Of course, please come and visit the museum, too!
I hope it can become one of the options for a day off: “Should we go to AEON MALL, the beach, or the Ohara Museum of Art today?”
Along with our regular operations, I’d like to bring back the Children’s Art Museum, and I’d also love for people to use the museum as a wedding venue…
The people who came before us built this wonderful space, so it would be a waste not to use it!!
You can spend both special occasions and ordinary days at the Ohara Museum of Art. I think that, too, is a step toward “Everyone’s My Museum.”
That said, we can’t do absolutely anything we want, so it’s difficult to know where to draw the line.
Do you have an ideal vision of the Ohara Museum of Art when it reaches its 100th anniversary?
Ohara
I hope we’ll be working toward a museum that contains the whole world in miniature.
Looking at the museum’s visitors today, their makeup is unbalanced compared with the population of the world.
There are many able-bodied visitors, and fewer people with disabilities.
We also have few visitors from overseas, particularly people of African descent…
I want the Ohara Museum of Art to be a place where, looking at its visitors, you can say, “This is the planet Earth. This is what’s normal.”
That said, my strongest wish is for the next generation running the Ohara Museum of Art to be free to do what they want.
My day-to-day work now is about helping the next generation feel confident as they approach the 100th anniversary.
What can you do for fun at the Ohara Museum of Art?
Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
Ohara
Please come and visit, wondering, “What can I do for fun at the Ohara Museum of Art?”
More than anything, I want people to get involved.
I believe art has infinite power.
At the same time, I believe that the people, things, and experiences connected with art also have infinite power.
I’d be delighted if encountering art through the Ohara Museum of Art could inspire people for whom the museum has always felt distant to help create a better future.
I hope you’ll come and enjoy yourselves, each in your own way, with the spirit of “Let’s have fun at the Ohara Museum of Art!”
From the Writer
When the interview ended, I felt somehow refreshed.
I think it was because the Ohara Museum of Art’s agility impressed me more than I had expected.
Chair Ohara’s conviction was clear: “The people who came before us built this wonderful space, so it would be a waste not to use it!!”
The staff’s commitment to making it “a museum that goes out to meet people.”
I came away convinced that it is the museum’s flexibility in responding to the quiet voices of local people that makes it possible for the Ohara Museum of Art to aspire to become “Everyone’s My Museum.”
What will people who encounter art through the Ohara Museum of Art feel, and what actions will they take?
As an art lover myself, I believe that the people, things, and experiences connected with art have infinite power.
“How shall I have fun at the Ohara Museum of Art next time?”
It was a valuable interview that left me excited to see the future the Ohara Museum of Art is envisioning.
Articles about the Ohara Museum of Art
Ohara Museum of Art Information
| Name | Ohara Museum of Art |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-1-15 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-422-0005 |
| Parking | None |
| Opening hours | 【December–February】 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (last admission: 2:30 p.m.) 【March–November】 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (last admission: 4:30 p.m.) |
| Closed | Mondays Open when a Monday falls on a national holiday or substitute holiday Closed during the winter; may also close temporarily |
| Admission (tax included) | 【General admission】 Adults: ¥2,000 High school, junior high school, and elementary school students (under 18): ¥500 |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Available No reservation required for individuals |
| Smoking | Entire facility is non-smoking |
| Restrooms | Western-style restrooms, accessible restrooms |
| Families with children | Nursing room, diaper-changing tables, stroller rental The nursing room is in the Craft Museum Diaper-changing tables are on the second floor of the Main Building and in the Craft Museum |
| Accessibility | Wheelchair rental, ramps, accessible restrooms, elevator |
| Website | Ohara Museum of Art Official Website |
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