2023 012

GALLERY SOAP is an artist-run space located in Kitakyushu (Japan) established by remodeling an old Japanese two-storied high house in 1997. Since its inception, we have organized solo and group exhibitions of Japanese and international artists.
Also we worked on art projects outside the gallery space using commercial space, online, billboard and street (e.g. RE/MAP PROJECT in 2001 - 2003).
Along with art exhibitions and projects, we have organized music events, film screening, symposiums and lecture series. Music events are organized by our music label “Soapland records” established in 2003.

In 2005, we established a non-profit organization named AIK, Art Institute Kitakyushu, to give further developed art activities in our city.
Under this organization, we started Kitakyushu Biennale in 2007. Organized by Keiichi Miyagawa (an artist and a director of SOAP) and Takuji Kogo (an artist and a director of *CANDY FACTORY PROJECTS), Kitakyushu Biennale has presented various artists works from overseas, mainly from Europe and America.

Making use of our experience through those activities, HOTEL ASIA PROJECT launched in 2011 by Keiichi Miyagawa, Yoshitaka Mouri (a sociologist and a professor of Tokyo University of the Arts), and Gen Sasaki (an artist and a curator of SOAP). The project has presented exhibitions and related events in Japan and overseas as a tour in collaboration with artists and other professionals mainly who based in Asian countries. We are now running a project called “Unidentified Landscape” 2018 from Yogyakarta to, Okinawa, Chongqing, Vienna and Kitakyushu co-curated with Ni Kun, Chinese curator.

Keijiro Nagamine + Ryuji Takahara "How Long Does Lightning Live?"