Save the Hiroshima Panels - Preservation Fund

We are celebrating the 57th anniversary of the Maruki Gallery on May 5. We thank you for your continued support and interest in our activities.

Today we would like to share with you the progress on the renovation of the gallery building, the current and upcoming exhibitions, as well as the anniversary event. 

We have selected a contractor for the gallery renovation project 

After the basic design for our gallery renovation project was completed last fall, we requested estimate from three local contractors to calculate the approximate construction cost.

The cost of construction has continued to rise in recent years as prices for labor, materials, fuel, and other expenses have increased. As a result, each company's estimate was higher than our planned budget. 

We then conducted a hearing with each contractor together with wyes architects, who is responsible for the design. Based on the submitted estimates and the hearing results, we selected SIGUMA (Fukaya City, Saitama Prefecture) as the prospective contractor.

We are making steady progress in our renovation plans. We sincerely thank you for your continued support in creating an optimum environment for the preservation of the Hiroshima Panels.

Introducing our special exhibitions

Current exhibition: Ahagon Shoko: Photography, Resistance, and Island People

Ahagon Shoko (1901-2002) is known for his nonviolent resistance together with local farmers over U.S.-occupied land on Ie Island after the Battle of Okinawa. Ahagon began documenting the island in photographs from 1955 to record the damage caused by the “bayonet and bulldozer” method of forced land confiscation, the U.S. military oppression, and the practice firing range. This exhibition will show the photographer side of Ahagon, who is well known as the "Gandhi of Okinawa" and as a peace activist. 

Click here for more information on the exhibition. 

Next exhibition: Matsushita Mariko: Human Animals (May 11 to July 7, 2024).

Matsushita was in Palestine right before the airstrikes started and is one of the artists who has been responding most profoundly for this matter in Japan ever since the genocide begun. In this exhibition, the artist will present a new collection of works in which she explores a new ideological abyss that does not divide "what is called human" and "what is called animal". 

Click here for more information on the exhibition.  

Events on the 57th anniversary of opening of the gallery

This year's event will focus on "Okinawa," which is also depicted in the works of the Marukis.

There will be a reading of the picture book Okinawa Shima no Koe (Voices of Okinawa) by actor Kagimoto Keiko, a screening of the film Okinawa Sen no Zu (the Battle of Okinawa) 14 parts which was screened in various locations last year, a workshop by painter Yamauchi Wakana, as well as lively stalls offering locally produced organic food items.

We are enjoying fresh greenery and beautiful flowers here at the Maruki Gallery. 

We wish you a pleasant spring time, too!