KANEKO is hard to categorize, which is the point. Founded by internationally renowned ceramic artist Jun Kaneko and his wife Ree, it opened as a public space in 2010 in a row of converted downtown warehouses. It’s part gallery, part library, part lecture hall, part performance venue — a place built around the idea that creativity is a public good.
The exhibitions are ambitious and unpredictable: large-scale installations, design shows, explorations of process and craft. The building itself is beautiful — soaring brick warehouses with light pouring in. It’s the kind of space that makes you want to make something.
It’s in the Old Market district, an easy walk from everything downtown. Check what’s on before you go; the programming changes completely from season to season, and the talks and performances are often the best part.