Tokyo 2020 unveils official art posters to celebrate the Games
Tokyo 2020 has unveiled 20 official art posters which have been created by 19 artists. Twelve are based on the theme of the Olympic Games and eight on the Paralympic Games, ranging completely in style and exploring mediums from graphic design to photography to painting.
The Olympic posters have the aim of visually tracing the history and identity of each edition of the Olympic Games by conveying the artistic, social and political context of their age. Today, they further communicate the Olympic values and ideals, and help to connect with the international artistic community and creative talents of the host country.
The Tokyo 2020 art posters have been designed by famous Japanese manga artists (e.g. award-winning manga artist Naoki Urasawa of the “Monster” series and “20th Century Boys” sci-fi adventure), calligraphers (Shoko Kanazawa, who contributes a design featuring the Chinese character for “soar”), several leading young figures from the Japanese art world and other famous Japanese artists, designers and photographers, as well as four international artists who have won numerous awards in Japan and abroad, such as Turner Prize-winning British painter Chris Ofili. All the artists have taken inspiration from both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in their work, though only one artist, Asao Tokolo, who created the Tokyo 2020 emblems, provided two creations, one for each of the Games.
Manga artist Hirohiko Araki is among those to have created Paralympic works, alongside graphic designer Goo Choki Par, calligrapher and contemporary artist Koji Kakinuma, artist Chihiro Mori, photographer and film director Mika Ninagawa, artist Tomoyuki Shinki and painter Akira Yamaguchi.
The 20 creative posters selected by the Organising Committee in liaison with the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage are being presented from 7 January to 16 February at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. The exhibition is being hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage in collaboration with Tokyo 2020 and aims to raise awareness of the fast approaching Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
This artistic approach gives the artists the chance to make their work known to the world by conveying their personal interpretation of the Olympic Movement and the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.
To see all the Tokyo 2020 official art posters, visit: https://tokyo2020.org/en/games/artposter/