[On exhibit] Takemata Yuichi, Installation view at Tayo, Ishikawa, 2024.
[Past work] Iwamura En, Installation view from URLANDSCHAFT, at WOAW Gallery, Hong Kong, 2022. Courtesy of WOAW Gallery and the artist.
[On exhibit] Miura Shiro & Muramatsu Masaharu (M.Produce), Ueno Kazuhiro (Nuno), Kai-Sou Irori, 2019. Collection of the artist. Photo: Yoshikawa Shinjiro
[Past work] Toyama Kazuhiro, Biophilia; Ephemeral Vase, 2024. Collection of Cheongju National Museum. Photo: Ichikawa Shinichi.
[Past work] Kakinuma Koji, Installation view from Now is Everything! A Challenge from Calligrapher Koji Kakinuma part II at Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum, Tokyo, 2021-2022. Photo: Gunji Masato, courtesy of Office Kakinuma,Inc.
[On exhibit] Matsuyama Tomokazu, Double Jeopardy!, 2020, Collection of K. T.. Installation view from Accountable Nature at The Long Museum, China, 2021. Courtesy of Matsuyama Studio.
[Past work] Yagi Takahiro, Tea Caddies. Collection of the artist.
[On exhibit] Takemata Yuichi, Installation view at Tayo, Ishikawa, 2024.
[On exhibit] Toyama Kazuhiro, Biophilia; Ephemeral Vase, 2021. Collection of the artist. Photo: Ichikawa Shinichi.
[On exhibit] Ishiwata Yui, Tabula Rasa, 2024. Collection of Kanazawa College of Art.
[Past work] Iwamura En, Installation view from URLANDSCHAFT, at WOAW Gallery, Hong Kong, 2022. Courtesy of WOAW Gallery and the artist.
ABOUT GO FOR KOGEI
New Perspectives on Craft from Hokuriku
Go for Kogei is a celebration of craft (kogei) in the Hokuriku region. Held annually since 2020, the event juxtaposes craft with the adjacent genres of contemporary art, art brut, and design to highlight the rich and multivarious forms of expression obscured by the conventional label of “craft.”
Before the introduction of the modern term kogei in the late nineteenth century, Japanese culture did not recognize a division between “fine art” and “craft.” Rather, aesthetic objects and their manufacture constituted a broader category. Bearing this history in mind, Go for Kogei seeks to challenge and update the conversation surrounding craft by highlighting new and contemporary forms of craft-based expression. The event is set in Hokuriku, a region known for its many longstanding craft traditions.
THEME
Craft and Art: Philosophies for Life
Go for Kogei 2024 features works by an exciting cast of craftspeople, designers, and artists. This year’s exhibition presents visitors with a nuanced view of the adjacent fields of contemporary craft and art, placing a renewed emphasis on material, technique, utility, and expression—the defining characteristics of modern crafts. The exhibition consists of multiple venues in two areas: the Iwase Area (Toyama), which was featured in last year’s exhibition, and the Higashiyama Area (Kanazawa), which is a new addition. Unlike a neutral museum environment, both areas are defined by traditional cityscapes that reflect the daily lives of residents. By inserting contemporary craft and art into this milieu, the exhibition transforms the familiar landscapes of each district.
The Iwase Area offers visitors a chance to enjoy local sake and food alongside site-specific installations that play off the district’s unique architecture and scenery. Meanwhile, the Higashiyama Area plumbs the depths of this year’s theme of “Craft and Art: Philosophies for Life,” featuring event programs that build off of Go for Kogei’s 2021 project Craft and Design: Kogei in Daily Life. Visitors can witness how works of craft, which usually exist in the miscellaneous spaces of daily life—mingling with light, weather, scent, and sound—can transcend ornamentation to meld with the life of the city, appearing as social objects with new value and meaning.
HIGHLIGHTS
37 Artists Representing the Full Spectrum of Craft and Art
Go for Kogei 2024 explores profound concepts under the theme “Craft and Art: Philosophies for Life.” This year’s lineup includes 37 creators from an unprecedented range of backgrounds—artisans, craftspeople, designers, and contemporary artists—participating as 15 solo artists and 4 groups.
Curated Experiences that Blend Food, Craft, and Art
In the Iwase Area, Go for Kogei builds on past initiatives to offer engaging site-specific installations that interact with the surrounding cityscape and scenery to create multisensory experiences blending local lifestyles and food culture with craft and art.
Programs Showcasing the Diverse Forms of Value Found in Crafts
Five projects are being held in the Higashiyama Area to highlight the relationship between objects and context. Visitors will discover the diverse forms of value found in crafts, not only as practical, physical objects, but as extensions of the histories, cultures, environments, and regional contexts they come from.
ARTISTS
- Akagi Akito & Otani Momoko
- Ino Ichizo
- Ishiwata Yui
- Isoya Hirofumi
- Iwamura En
- Iwasaki Tsutomu
- Kakinuma Koji
- Kawai Masaru & Tsukamoto Yoshiki
- Matsuyama Tomokazu
- Miura Shiro & En-Kai Project
- Sareena Sattapon
- Sawada Kensho
- Shakunaga Gaku
- Sotome Haruka
- Takemata Yuichi & Oniki Koichiro
- Tatehana Noritaka
- Toyama Kazuhiro
- Yagi Takahiro
- Yasuda Taizo (Japanese names given in customary order, surname first)
EVENT
AREA
TOYAMA
Iwase Area
(Toyama, Toyama Prefecture)
KANAZAWA
Higashiyama Area
(Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture)
More to Explore
Click here for Information on nearby craft fairs and exhibitions.
TICKET
Event Passport
Provides a single entry to each exhibition venue during the event.
General Admission: ¥2,500 (Advance purchase: ¥2,000)
University/Vocational Students: ¥2,000 (Advance purchase: ¥1,800)
OVERVIEW
GO FOR KOGEI 2024
Exhibition Dates: September 14–October 20, 2024
Hours: 10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (last admission 4:00 p.m.)
Venues: Iwase Area (Toyama, Toyama Prefecture) & Higashiyama Area (Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture)
Holidays by Venue: Saseki (closed on Tuesdays), Sklo (closed on Wednesdays). All other venues are open daily.
Organizers: NPO Syuto Kanazawa; Japan Arts Council; Agency for Cultural Affairs
Co-organizers: Toyama Prefecture; Toyama City
Support: Ishikawa Prefecture; Kanazawa City; West Japan Railway Company
2024 Japan Cultural Expo 2.0 Program (Commission)
PARTNERS
GO FOR KOGEI 2024 is sponsored by the following companies and organizations.
Lead Partner
Official Partners
NEWS LETTER
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