Emme: Initiated by Asia & ASEAN Collectors, A Permanent Home for Eugene Kangawa’s Works in Bali
3,000㎡ museum on 1ha site, completing in 2026, operated by Indonesian public foundation&corporation
Official Announcement
Updated in June 2026 to reflect the latest project information.
Through the proposal, support, and initiative of collectors connected to Asia, ASEAN, and Indonesia—and their wish to preserve the works for future generations—the solo exhibition The New Sea / After the Rainbow (held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in 2021–22) has since evolved into a permanent museum dedicated to the works of Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO.
Emme was established and is independently operated in Indonesia by Yayasan Emmerald for Earth, an Indonesian public-interest foundation, and Desa Emmerald, a local corporation. A portion of the museum’s revenue is intended to support environmental conservation activities and educational programs, which is another defining feature of this new museum. These entities are currently overseeing the museum’s construction, which is scheduled for completion in 2026.
EUGENE STUDIO expresses its deep gratitude to all those who proposed and brought to life a concrete plan—far beyond anything the Studio could have imagined—to preserve these works in a permanent home for future generations. The Studio also hopes that the museum will make a meaningful contribution to the local community for generations to come. EUGENE STUDIO creates the artworks and contributes to the museum’s conceptual development and architectural dialogue with the museum’s architect, Andra Matin, while the museum itself is independently owned and operated by these Indonesian entities.
The museum is currently under construction in Bali, near a UNESCO World Heritage-listed cultural landscape. Emme will comprise facilities with a total floor area of approximately 3,000 square meters.
Key Facts
Museum Name: Emme
Type: Permanent museum
Location: Bali, Indonesia
Established and Operated by: Yayasan Emmerald for Earth, an Indonesian public-interest foundation, and Desa Emmerald. Through the public-interest foundation, a portion of the museum’s revenue will be directed toward environmental conservation activities and educational programs, which is another defining feature of this new museum.
Origin: Initiated through the wish, proposal, and support of collectors connected to Asia, ASEAN, and Indonesia following Eugene Kangawa’s 2021–22 solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Moved by the exhibition and wishing to carry that experience forward to future generations, the community formed around this initiative set out to create the museum on a site of fallow rice fields while avoiding the removal of existing trees.
The museum is currently under construction in Bali, in a verdant setting at the foot of a UNESCO World Heritage area with which the collectors have close ties.
Scheduled Completion: 2026
EUGENE STUDIO’s Role: Creation of the artworks and contributions to the museum’s conceptual development and architectural dialogue
Architect: Andra Matin
*Museum Name: Emme (official name; formerly referred to by the working title Eugene Museum in Bali)
For more details, please visit the official website.
EMME Presents – Pre-Opening Interview
Andra Matin & Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO) — “Voices from Indonesia” [English Subtitles]
Highlights from 2024, featuring voices from people in Indonesia.
Planning & Editing: EMME and the local museum team
EMME Presents – “Interview” Part. 1&2 Andra Matin/Eugene Kangawa (Eugene Studio) [Japanese Subtitles]
An interview by the local museum team.
The museum announced its plan for the first time in Indonesia at the end of May 2024.
Financial Times (UK, print edition)
“The 3,000 sq metre Eugene Museum, designed by Andra Matin, will have more than 15 permanent works by contemporary artist Eugene Kangawa (born 1989). These range from paintings to immersive installations.
In 2021, Kangawa was the youngest artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, despite not having traditional gallery representation.”
Rumahjurnalis.com (Indonesia、Web)
The idea of establishing the museum in Bali emerged following the success of Eugene Kangawa’s solo exhibition The New Sea: After the Rainbow, held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo from 2021 to 2022. Despite taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the exhibition attracted significant attention, with long queues forming outside the venue on a daily basis.
The success of the exhibition generated widespread support from the international community, including Indonesia, and led to the vision of creating a permanent museum in Bali dedicated to the works of Eugene Kangawa.
Comment from Eugene Kangawa
“First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the extraordinary proposal to establish a permanent museum—something I could never have imagined or even conceived on my own. The proposal came as an extraordinary surprise. An initiative that reaches across national borders can, of course, only be realized through the generous support of many people and the efforts of everyone who has helped move it forward. I sincerely hope that it will become a place of importance to the local community and to everyone involved."
Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO
Eugene Kangawa is known for abstract painting and installations centered on themes of human existence, time, and history. His exhibitions and projects include EUGENE STUDIO The New Sea / After the Rainbow (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2021–22); de-sport: (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa); 1/2 century later. (Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo); and 89+ (Serpentine Galleries, London), among others. Born in the United States in 1989.
Following the resonance of his solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and through the wish, proposal, and support of collectors with ties to Asia and ASEAN, the exhibition has developed into Emme, a permanent museum in Bali dedicated to the works of Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO. Situated on a one-hectare site near Bali’s UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape, Emme is now being established and built under the care of a local operating body and a local public-interest foundation. The museum is scheduled for completion in 2026.
His short art film has also been selected for—and received awards at—several international film festivals, including the Rhode Island International Film Festival, the Brooklyn Film Festival, and the Pan African Film Festival.
He currently works near Tokyo at Atelier iii—a lush studio designed and DIY-built by the artist and his team—together with a diverse, cross-disciplinary staff.
the-eugene-studio.com
Contact (Japan)：
Eugene Studio
press@the-eugene-studio.com
Press enquiries on this matter:
Correspondence
Indonesia / Vivin
UK, US, FR / Sutton
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