Up for grabs: Tokyo art exhibit invites theft

The Tokyo art exhibit opened to enthusiastic visitors, but many of those circulating weren't just there to soak in some culture - they were casing the joint for a midnight raid.

Hours after the gallery closed for the night, a crowd had gathered ready to pounce on the artworks. The police station was nearby, but officers only intervened for crowd control, because all the pieces at the Stealable Art Exhibition were up for grabs.

The event was intended as "an experiment", to alter the relationship between artists and visitors, organiser Tota Hasegawa told AFP.

It was originally conceived as a low-key event that might attract some covert thievery, but word spread so fast on social media that a crowd of nearly 200 people packed the streets near the gallery hoping for a chance to grab a prize. | A woman stands next to an artwork "Self Division" (R) created by Merge Majurdan as she takes pictures of the painting "For those who want to steal Mona Lisa" created by Joji Nakamura at Same gallery.

Would-be robbers were told they could raid the gallery from midnight, but the crowd was so big that the theft started half an hour earlier, and the exhibition that had been billed as running for up to 10 days was emptied of art in less than 10 minutes.

Yusuke Hasada, 26, was a rare winner, gripping a crumpled 10,000 yen ($93) banknote in a frame, which was part of the "My Money" installation by Gabin Ito. He arrived an hour before midnight only to see a crowd had already formed.

Since there was no apparent queue, he manoeuvered himself into a spot right in front of the gallery.

"The moment the staff said they should open early due to the big crowd, people rushed in from behind me. I was in the front, and I almost fell over," he told AFP.

Artist Minori Murata poses next to her installation artwork "Gods and Mom beleive in you" at Same gallery during the opening ceremony of a stealable art exhibition in Tokyo.

The owner of Same gallery poses next to artworks "Self Division" (L) created by Merge Majurdan, "Untitled" from Kagami Foundation Collection (C) and a picture by Akira Gomi (R) during the opening ceremony of a stealable art exhibition in Tokyo.