When the Weekender asked if I was interested in blogging, I asked if I’d get paid for it. Then to end the awkward silence that followed, I said I’d do it anyway.

But the truth is that this blog is the answer to a number of things I’d been considering before the opportunity came up. It will not be my first experience with blogging, but with any luck, and a few kind readers, it can become an informative and useful resource.

Art + Tokyo is a blog is about art. And Tokyo. Or art in Tokyo. Or writing about art while living in Tokyo. Or any combination thereof. Pronounce it “Art Plus Tokyo” or “Art And Tokyo” or just “Art Tokyo” if you like. The title was chosen to be flexible, and I hope the blog will be as well.

Those that follow my regular articles will know that my heart belongs to contemporary art, with a special soft-spot for new media. And while I enjoy writing reviews, I’ve often wanted to wander into more general territory regarding questions of curation, art theory, good and bad galleries, books on art and whatever else might be striking my fancy at the time. And if that isn’t blogging, then I don’t know what is.

Secondly, having to choose a single art event to cover in my regular column means that any number of excellent shows, some of them only two or three weeks long, are getting overlooked. Art + Tokyo is a much needed way of filling in those oversights.

The blog will be updating every Thursday morning, Tokyo time.

Does this city need one more art blog? I figure it can’t hurt. There are any number of sites where you can find out what’s happening, any number of sites that will give you the press-preview of that big show at that big museum, and any number of sources for actual reviews of art. But I hope that Art + Tokyo will occupy a different kind of space, something contemplative but playful, and ultimately informative beyond the closing date of the exhibition. Let’s see what happens.

–Owen Schaefer