Shigeo Goto, director of Tokyo Frontline, a new art fair to start in Tokyo this year, calls himself an "outsider," meaning he considers himself not quite inside Tokyo's commercial "art scene."
He may not be an artist or a major curator, but for an "outsider" Goto does have an extremely active role in promoting today's Japanese culture. He is currently a professor at the Tokyo University of Art and Design, a member of Tokyo Media Art Festival committee, a photography gallery owner, a publisher and writer of numerous arts and photography related books, an event director and the list goes on.
With so much already up his sleeve, why start a new three-day art fair? Considering the current economic climate, investing in an art fair involving just a handful of high-end galleries seems risky — but, Goto points out, Tokyo Frontline, which is planned to run once a year for five years, is designed to be a little different.
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