Today is my last day at Design Festa. I’m not sure how time flies by so quickly, but it does. I spent about two years planning and looking forward to my semester in Tokyo, and then all-of-a-sudden 14 weeks are over, and I’m getting ready to return to my banal life in the states. I’m really going to miss the ‘festa like woah. The staff and visitors here have been nothing but awesome this whole time. By just spending a few hours a week here, I have made a ton of friends, learned so much about Tokyo, about art, and about Japanese culture, and I don’t want it to end. . . Luckily, I’m pretty sure it won’t! You just wait, I’ll be back next year, ready to gear up for Vol.30!
Till next year,
Brian

4 friends from the Kurosawa college of design collaborated on an exhibition of all things fun! They made 100 pancakes, they ate cream puffs, they wrote a magazine, it just doesn’t end. The only word I can use to describe these energetic kids and their exhibition is zany. I love Zany.

So the name of the exhibition in W1D is moso-dobutsuen. Well dobutsuen is Japanese for zoo, but after hearing 3 people try to explain to me what moso means, the best English I could think of is delusional. But how cool of a name is that? ‘Delusional Zoo’ I love it! Moving on, the delusional zoo is a pretty cool show. 7 artists who originally met on MIXI got together for the first time and put on mixed-media show about crazy animals. There’s photography, painting, objects, sound, the works. One of the 7 artists, Akida Nozaki said he had blast with this collaboration, and all seven wanna do it again sometime. Cool!

Auo has been designing various accessories for about ten 10 years, but now she is focusing on the brooch. Why you may ask? “Well,” Auo explains, “they’re very popular accessories right now, but I think they really are the future of accessories!” Enough said, done and done! Come check these awesome pieces out.

The second floor of the WEST gallery is flooded with photography! In 2-C, Yumi Koike and Miho Arai are exhibiting their favorite pictures of interesting round shapes and Japan! Sound weird? Well it’s not. That’s actually what they’re doing, and the photos are striking. Meanwhile, next door in 2-E, there is a giant photo collage of a blooming sakura tree, and smaller landscapes. Both shows will be up until the thirteenth!

One of the most unique aspects of Design Festa, the art piece, has taken a new form on the first floor of the East gallery. Whereas before, artists could only exhibit in a space on a wall, they now have the option to use their own private little cubby to decorate any way they want. I’m excited to see how artists utilize this third dimension!

Under the pseudonym ‘Brown Betty,’ Rika Asou creates cute, functional, furry creatures and things. I know that’s kind of a lame description, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Rika’s entire collection of art is really a genre that I think doesn’t exist in the US, where I’m from. As a result, I’m having difficulty finding the proper words to really describe how awesome her exhibition is. She draws her inspiration from creatures of the forest, and then renders them into adorable everyday goods. She has bookmarks, bags, pin cushions, stuffed animals, magnets, and hella hella more. Rika studied fashion and design in college, and has spent the last 6 years creating these sundries while also working part-time at an office in Tokyo. You can come see her exhibition until Dec. 7, and you can check out her website here

Today I got the pleasure of hanging out with Anna and Adrian for a few minutes while they toured the gallery. Anna is traveling from her home-country, Sweden, to Sydney, where she has been living for a year, and decided to take a 5 day layover in Tokyo to see the city. She randomly spotted the gallery from the street, and was attracted by its craziness. Then, while hangin’ out, she bumped into Adrian, whom she met at her hostel, and who is actually from Australia! Small world eh?

Bali, Ise, Rome, Kyoto, New Zealand, Gifu, and Hiroshima. . . yeah, I think that counts as a legitimate world tour. Over the course of 2007 and 2008, Matamaru Misuzu visited all these places, and came to Design Festa to share her impressions with the world. Working at a travel agency during the day, it’s obvious that Misuzu has a pretty fond appreciation for travel, and I’m delighted that she turned this appreciation into a beautiful exhibition.

Spanish people are so freakin friendly! I bumped into Javier and Xavier a few minutes ago in our garden café, and they told me all about their 3-week trip across Japan. Starting way down south in Kyushuu, Javier and Xavier made it all the way North to Sapporo before looping back to Tokyo for the last 3 days of their trip. They stumbled across Design Festa while following a ‘Lonely Planet’ walking tour, and they love it. The garden café caught their eye first, but really, they said they were most impressed by the overall idea and concept behind Design Festa. Well, we’re glad you guys came, and I hope you enjoy your final days!