ABOUT

GO FOR KOGEI 2021

We are proud to announce Go for Kogei 2021, a celebration of craft (kogei) in the Hokuriku region. The theme for this year is “Life in the Age of Crafts”, exploring an idea of “Crafts turning into Contemporary Art and Modern Design” through the 2 special exhibitions which will be held in Takaoka, Kanazawa, Komatsu and Echizen at the same time. Moreover, crafts areas in the Hokuriku region will be introduced by providing various stamps that can be collected at each area as well as through online platform.

Introduction

We are proud to announce Go for Kogei 2021, a celebration of craft (kogei) in the Hokuriku region. This year’s theme is “Life in the Age of Crafts.”
The Hokuriku region has a robust culture of crafts. The prefectures of Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui are home to 23 nationally designated traditional crafts (current as of January 15, 2021). Museums, universities, research institutes, and joint workshops operate in the larger craft centers where specialists engage in research and creation. Many of the individuals who study at these facilities put down roots, becoming the next generation of artisans and artists. The festivals that flourish in these regions attest to the strong appeal of regional crafts and the people who create them. Every year, these festivals draw large crowds of visitors who come to interact with artisans and get a glimpse into the world of craft.
Go for Kogei 2021 ties together seven local craft festivals and several dozen studios and workshops to showcase the power of Hokuriku’s crafts—products of the interaction between people and place. Additionally, the festival features two large-scale special exhibitions that seek to foster new perspectives within the world of Japanese crafts, reaching beyond the Hokuriku region to introduce viewers to the newest developments in craft from around the country.
Both exhibitions take a different approach to this year’s overarching theme of “Life in the Age of Crafts.” Special Exhibition I, titled The Future of Craft Aesthetics: Kogei, Contemporary Art, and Art Brut, focuses on crafts as site-specific contemporary art. Special Exhibition II, titled Crafts and Design: Kogei in Daily Life—Curations by 13 Creative Directors, is a project-based exhibition that introduces the result of product collaborations between creative directors, artisans, and producers.
The exhibitions feature works by over 40 artists, artisans, and craftspeople, shining a light on the power of Japan’s increasingly diverse crafts and the closely related fields of contemporary art and design.

Akimoto Yuji
Executive Director, Hokuriku Kogei Platform Executive Committee
Go For Kogei Special Exhibition Curator Executive Director,
Hokuriku Kogei Platform Executive Committee

Go For Kogei
Special Exhibition Curator

Born in 1955 in Tokyo. After graduating with a degree in painting from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Akimoto worked as a curator for Benesse Art Site Naoshima starting in 1991. He served as the director of the Chichu Art Museum from its opening in 2004 while acting as the managing director of the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation and the artistic director for Benesse Art Site Naoshima. He retired from the foundation in 2006. From 2007 through 2017, he served as the director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, where he organized Kanazawa Art Platform 2008, the Triennale of Kogei in Kanazawa, and Art Crafting Towards the Future. From 2015 through 2021, Akimoto taught as a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts while serving as the director of the university art museum. He is currently a professor emeritus at the Tokyo University of the Arts, the director of the Nerima Art Museum (Tokyo), the Special Director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and a professor emeritus at the Tainan National University of the Arts in Taiwan.

I am delighted to announce the opening of Go for Kogei 2021, a celebration of craft (kogei) in the Hokuriku region. On behalf of the organizers, I offer my thanks to everyone who made this event possible.
The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 has pushed people everywhere to reexamine the modern values that underlie society and our current ways of life. By reevaluating the rich natural environment, culture, and history that preexisted modernity in Japan and reexamining craft values—which were both born out of this milieu and continue to sustain Japan’s culture of craftsmanship and manufacturing—we believe it is possible to forge new models for daily life. In addition to holding two special exhibitions that showcase the full appeal of crafts, this event brings together a diverse selection of workshops specializing in different materials and techniques. By tying together independent craft festivals and promoting the development of a regional network, we hope to create a larger “art area” within the greater Hokuriku region. These are the ambitions behind Go for Kogei.
With the Hokuriku Shinkansen line scheduled to extend to Fukui Prefecture in 2024, we will work to transcend established boundaries and promote a new appreciation of crafts throughout Japan and the world from the Hokuriku region.
In closing, I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to everyone who made this event possible.

Ura Jun
Chair, Approved Specified Nonprofit Corporation Syuto Kanazawa
Producer, Hokuriku Kogei Platform Executive Committee Chair,
Approved Specified Nonprofit Corporation Syuto Kanazawa

Producer, Hokuriku Kogei Platform Executive Committee

Outline

  • Title

  • Go for Kogei 2021 Hokuriku Crafts Festival

  • Theme

  • Life in the Age of Crafts

  • Dates

  • September 10 (Friday)–October 24 (Sunday), 2021

  • Admission

  • Special Exhibition I, II: Event Passport
    or Single Venue Tickets are on sale
    Hokuriku Studio: Admission Free
    Toyama-Echizen Stamp Book: Event Passport is on sale

  • Organizer

  • Hokuriku Kogei Platform Executive Committee
    Ministry of Culture
    Japan Arts Council

  • Management

  • Approved Specified Nonprofit Corporation Syuto Kanazawa

  • Co-organizers

  • Kanazawa 21st Century Craft Festival Executive Committee
    KUTANism Executive Committee
    Glass Festa (Toyama Glass Studio)
    Takaoka Craft Market Executive Committee
    RENEW Executive Committee
    Craft Fest Executive Committee

  • Special Cooperation

  • Toyama City,
    Takaoka City,
    Nomi City,
    Komatsu City,
    Echizen City,
    Hokkoku Shimbun,
    Toyama Shimbun

  • Cooperation

  • Shokoji Temple
    Natadera Temple
    Otaki-Okamoto Shrines

  • Special Sponsors

  • Being Group
    Matsumoto Investment, Inc.
    MITANI SANGYO Co., Ltd.
    Rakusui-tei Museum of Art
    River Retreat GARAKU

  • Support

  • Toyama Prefecture,
    Ishikawa Prefecture,
    Fukui Prefecture,
    Toyama Association of Corporate Executives,
    Kanazawa Association of Corporate Executives,
    Fukui Association of Corporate Executives,
    Kanazawa City,
    West Japan Railway Company,
    Kitanippon Shimbun,
    Fukui Shimbun,
    Junior Chamber International Kanazawa,
    Junior Chamber International Toyama,
    Junior Chamber International Komatsu,
    Junior Chamber International Takefu,
    Japan Institute of Architects Hokuriku Branch

FY 2021 Japan Cultural Expo Project Presented and Co-presented by Agency for Cultural Affairs,
Government of Japan, and Japan Arts Council