Detroit Institute of Arts launches gallery for Japanese art

The Detroit Institute of Arts has opened a permanent gallery for Japanese art that pairs traditional and contemporary works. (Photo: Detroit Institute of Arts/Facebook)

DETROIT — The Detroit Institute of Arts has opened a permanent gallery for Japanese art that pairs traditional and contemporary works.

Museum officials say the gallery, which opened Saturday, places objects in their original contexts and spaces, including tea rooms, Buddhist temples and domestic rooms.

Digital elements aim to enliven objects or provide additional context, such as a touchscreen table where visitors can handle a 3-D printed tea bowl. The museum also teamed up with a Tokyo theatre to produce a film featuring a Noh performance with a mask similar to one in the Detroit collection.

The DIA worked with Natsu Oyobe, University of Michigan curator of Asian art, and received financial support from the Japanese Business Society of Detroit.

Workshops, demonstrations and performances were planned for opening weekend.