Grand Green Osaka

Spring is the perfect season for picnics, and Umekita is just the place to enjoy them. For about two weeks, this lively area next to Osaka Station transforms its open lawns and public spaces into an outdoor gallery, showcasing a series of large-scale installations by local artists. Over at Grand Green Osaka and Grand Front Osaka – the two main anchors of the Umekita area – large curtain-like installations titled ‘Super Open’ act as doorways, welcoming visitors to explore the grounds and hang out with art. ‘Unfolding the Giant Furoshiki’ is another interesting piece. It will move between two sites: Grand Front Osaka’s Umekita Plaza on the weekend of April 4–5, and Grand Green Osaka’s Lawn Plaza on subsequent weekends, April 11–12 and April 18–19. Here, a giant furoshiki, measuring up to 50m × 30m and made from smaller pieces of fabric sewn together, will be laid on the ground from 9am to 6pm to form a massive communal space. Everyone is welcome to sit, relax and spend time on it. Other highlights include a faceless human-like figure titled ‘Anonymous’ (10am–7pm) at Grand Green Osaka’s Lawn Plaza, which encourages passersby to pause and perhaps project their emotions onto the sculpture, as well as ‘Spiral Lumina’, a rope installation at Grand Green Osaka’s Gate Lantern, featuring a spiral form reminiscent of a DNA helix. Also check out ‘Machikururi’ (10am–8pm) over at Grand Green Osaka North Park, an interactive artwork that revolves around the idea of people coming together...

Art Osaka returns for its 24th edition with an expanded format that further cements Osaka’s role as a gateway to contemporary art in Japan and across Asia. Founded in 2002, the fair has long cultivated a distinctive identity rooted in the Kansai region while maintaining strong connections with the wider Asian art scene. The 2026 edition will bring together 60 galleries from six countries and regions across 15 cities, representing Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Through this dynamic mix of established and emerging spaces, the fair offers a broad cross-section of contemporary artistic practices from across the region. The Galleries Section (May 29–31) takes place at Congress Square in Grand Green Osaka, the centrepiece of Osaka’s rapidly transforming Umekita district. Here, 52 galleries present works spanning painting, sculpture, video and installation, organised across four presentation formats (Galleries, Focus, Wall and Screening) designed to bring established artists and emerging voices into dialogue. Meanwhile, the Expanded Section (May 28–June 1) occupies the cavernous industrial halls of Creative Center Osaka, a former shipyard that has become synonymous with experimental art. Featuring 13 large-scale projects by 15 artists, the section highlights immersive installations and site-specific works that respond to the architecture and history of the space. The two venues reflect the fair’s evolving vision, one that moves fluidly between market...