§ Mr. GristTo ask the Minister for the Arts which events in the Japan festival 1991 he attended in his official capacity; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RentonI attended the following events:
- 28 August 1991: "Contemporary Art from Japan" Exhibition at the Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh;
- 16 September 1991: The Royal Opening of the Japan Festival at the Victoria and Albert Museum;
- 16 September 1991: The "Visions of Japan" Exhibition, also at the Victoria and Albert Museum;
- 17 September 1991: The Royal Opening of the Kamakura Exhibition at the British Museum;
- 22 October 1991: The exhibition "Japan and Britain: An Aesthetic Dialogue 1850–1930" at the Barbican.
I also attended receptions for sponsors at Lancaster House and in Cardiff and Newcastle. The Japan Festival 1991 has been the largest celebration of another country's culture ever held in the United Kingdom.
The festival has attracted very wide support, and hundreds of highly successful and varied events have taken place nationwide. It will, I am sure, make a valuable and lasting contribution to relations between our two countries and to the understanding and appreciation of Japanese culture in the United Kingdom.