On Thursday, July 24, 2025, the “GO FOR KOGEI Symposium 2025” was held in London, UK, in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). The symposium highlighted the vibrant creativity of contemporary artists who break through gender barriers in craft and transcend disciplinary boundaries. Presenters—including artists, curators, and researchers—engaged in cross-disciplinary discussions on the current state of craft from perspectives such as gender, disciplinary frameworks, regional cultural values, and contemporary visual culture.
We are pleased to announce that the video recording of our symposium is available on YouTube. We invite you to watch the full discussion and revisit the insightful dialogues shared by our speakers.

→Part 1
https://youtu.be/AjoyVwfbqaM
Welcome Remarks Joanna Norman (Director, V&A Research Institute, National Art Library and Archives, V&A)
Keynote Lecture Glenn Adamson (Curator at Large, Vitra Design Museum) ‘Into the Unknown: The Future of Mingei’
Yuko Kikuchi (Head of Academic Programmes, VARI NALA, V&A) ‘Quiet, artful subversion: women artists driving KUTANism’
Masami Yamada (Curator, Asian Department, V&A) ‘Beyond Tradition: Collecting Contemporary Japanese Crafts at the V&A’

→Part 2 Round Table
https://youtu.be/euSzo60lEU4
Gender & tradition in Japan: alternative spaces, alternative thought, new subjectivities Rui Sasaki (Artist, glass) Suzanne Ross (Artist, lacquer) Yoca Muta (Artist, ceramic) Hitomi Hosono (Artist, ceramic) Moderator: Tanya Harrod (Craft historian and writer, co-editor of Journal of Modern Craft)

→Part 3,4 Lecture & Round Table
https://youtu.be/Gt_3RG0hTZ8

Alberto Cavalli (Executive Director, Michelangelo Foundation) [Homo Faber Project] ‘Bi No Michi: Japanese crafts and the way to beauty’
Round Table Towards Democratization of Crafts as urban contemporary expressions of subcultures En Iwamura (Artist, ceramic) Kazuhito Kawai (Artist, ceramic) Shige Fujishiro (Artist, glass) Moderator: YujiAkimoto (Artistic Director, Go for Kogei)