Cover Cartier Women’s Pavilion at Osaka Expo, Japan
Cartier Women’s Pavilion at Osaka Expo, Japan
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Cyrille Vigneron discusses the Cartier Women’s Pavilion at Osaka Expo 2025—a space designed to spark solutions, foster dialogue and inspire concrete action for gender equality
Three hundred guests from around the globe gathered at the Osaka Expo Hall in late May to witness a convergence of cultures. Barefoot dancers, representing a tapestry of backgrounds, genders and ethnicities, moved in unison while humming a Japanese melody. Despite the language barrier, the performance had an emotional resonance that transcended words, stirring deep emotions and bringing tears to the eyes of many of those present.
The performance marked the official opening ceremony of the Women’s Pavilion at Osaka Expo, curated and supported by Cartier. It is the second women-themed exhibition in World Expo history—the first was at Dubai Expo 2020—and it embodies a vision that Cyrille Vigneron, chairman of culture and philanthropy at Cartier, has long believed in and championed through all initiatives: when women thrive, humanity thrives. “The Women’s Pavilion in Dubai Expo was a great success, and recognition of the relevance of having such a thematic pavilion inside an Expo,” says Vigneron. “It was important to establish this not just once, but to continue affirming that women have their space in any exhibition or exposition [anywhere] in the world.”
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Above The Women’s Pavilion at Osaka Expo, in collaboration with Cartier
Above Cyrille Vigneron, chairman of culture and philanthropy at Cartier
The Women’s Pavilion at Osaka Expo, in collaboration with Cartier
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UN Women have reported that the gender gap is widening in the post-pandemic world, a point Vigneron highlighted in his opening address: “We’ve seen an increase in the number of women living in extreme poverty, while progress in women’s empowerment has not only stalled but regressed in some areas. We should never take for granted that women’s empowerment follows a linear path—there can be regression.”
This approach led to the theme for the Women’s Pavilion at the Osaka Expo: “Tomuni iki tomunika gayaku mirai”, a Japanese phrase meaning “Together we live, together we shine and together we design our future.” It was only fitting that this was reflected also in the pavilion logistics. “We specifically sought out a Japanese female architect,” explains Vigneron. “This led us to Yuko Nagayama, who is highly respected in Japan but not yet as widely recognised internationally. It remains unusual to see female architects leading projects of this scale.”
Nagayama repurposed materials from the Dubai structure to build the new pavilion and incorporated vegetation sourced from the Osaka region, which will be returned after the exhibition concludes, steps which embody the pavilion’s connection to the Earth.
Inside the Cartier Women’s Pavilion, visitors are invited to an immersive experience of three remarkable individuals and are invited to walk in their footsteps, experiencing the pivotal moments that shaped them into who they are today
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Vigneron believed it was important, rather than merely showcasing data, to offer an immersive journey through women’s lives. Cartier chose to do this by highlighting three remarkable individuals and inviting visitors to walk in their footsteps, experiencing the pivotal moments that shaped them into who they are today.
Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto’s pathway is represented by a series of mirrored spaces that reflect how she has navigated success in what is still a male-led industry in Japan and share her conviction that writing has been her life’s guiding force. Poet and scientist Emi Mahmoud’s section pulses with the vibrant colours of her native Sudan, where she is an activist and advocate for refugees and education in conflict zones. And Mexican climate activist Xiye Bastida’s space connects visitors with urgent environmental concerns, using contrasting elements—serene images of myths and the sound of flooding—to demonstrate how the climate crisis affects us all, albeit unequally.
“What I find interesting is that you have three completely different women, with different backgrounds, different ages, different cultures, and yet there is a form of universality in their story that anybody can relate to,” says Vigneron. “It’s about finding your own inner strength, finding your own voice and finding a way to express it.”
After experiencing these powerful narratives, visitors enter a space called “MA”, drawing on the Japanese concept of a meaningful pause or interval, where visitors can process and reflect on what they saw. This contemplation deepens as visitors move into the next section, where interactive displays present crucial data about gender inequality worldwide.
“Your Hand” section inside the Women’s Pavilion
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The journey culminates in the “Your Hand” section, where the narrative expands from individual stories to a chorus of global activists working to improve women’s lives. In this final space, messages from leaders in a range of fields are shared in an installation that invites visitors to place their hands inside oval apertures, where words of inspiration are projected onto their palms.
The aim of the Women’s Pavilion, Vigneron emphasises, is not to provide answers but to evoke questions and inspire action. He recalls a meaningful encounter during one of his visits: “A young Japanese woman shared that after removing her [audio guide] headset, the sound continued resonating in her mind. She asked herself, ‘What shall I do now on my own?’ That simple question revealed how deeply the experience had affected her.”
The experience doesn’t end when visitors finish going through the exhibition. On the second floor of the pavilion, the Wa space serves as a forum that hosts international leaders, visionaries and experts in conversations and panels on key global issues, which will be open to the public throughout the six-month Expo. These discussions revolve around six themes: Mother Nature; Business and Technology; Education and Policy; Arts and Culture; Philanthropy; and Roles and Identities. Renowned fashion designer and environmentalist Gabriela Hearst and women’s rights activist Amanda Nguyen are among the speakers featured in these sessions.
The opening ceremony of the Women’s Pavilion
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“We want to highlight what works, and what we can do to replicate success,” says Vigneron. “It’s not about lamenting problems—it’s about sharing concrete ways forward. When people leave these sessions, they should feel energised and equipped with practical ideas they can implement in their own contexts.”
Since its inauguration, the Women’s Pavilion has been operating at nearly full capacity every day. While celebrating this success, it is important also to acknowledge the ongoing challenges of such conversations in societies like Japan’s, where women are still mandated to change their family names upon marriage and workplace inequality remains prominent. But Vigneron remains hopeful. “The message of the pavilion is: even if there are setbacks, we should not get pessimistic. Let’s focus on those who are going in the right direction, who are leading the way for all the others.”
And Vigneron firmly believes that it is important to focus on those of every gender that are going in the right direction—and that the pavilion can help with that. “We call it the Women’s Pavilion, but really it’s a pavilion for everyone. Change in one gender could not have happened without the support of other genders. We should encourage more people, men and women, to be who they really are ... and then help each of them to thrive.”
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