Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010

Visit contemporary art exhibitions in Nara

Nara Art Prom 2010 will host a variety of contemporary art exhibitions and events in Nara from Oct. 2 to 11.

The main theme of the project is "The Great Nara Basin Frontier," part of the celebrations of the founding of the capital in Nara 1,300 years ago. Exhibitions and events will be held in around 40 to 50 public and privately-owned spaces and facilities in the city. One of the highlights is an exhibition of works by artist Shiriagari Kotobuki at Nara International Seminar House in Kyusezon-in Temple, which is a 10-minute walk from Nara Station on the Kintetsu Nara Line.

Details of more exhibitions and events, including a workshop for children and opening and closing parties with contemporary music producer Asari Daiki can be found at the organizer's website at nara-art-prom.com (in Japanese).

For further information contact the organizer via e-mail at contact@nara-art-prom.com

Donate used clothes, blankets in Osaka

Namba Walk, an underground shopping arcade in Chuo Ward, Osaka, will collect used clothes and blankets for donations between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. from Oct. 2 to 5.

The clothes collected will this year be donated to Laos, with help from the Japan Relief Clothing Center. The arcade has been collecting and donating used clothes to countries in need for the last 11 years and has donated around 254 tons of clothes to African and Southeast Asian countries.

Please bring used, but washed, clothes to the Kujira (whale) Park zone in the arcade. Only casual summer clothes will be accepted. Used and washed blankets are also sought, but towels, sheets, underwear or socks will be accepted only if they have not been used.

For more information, contact the organizer at (06) 6643-1866.

Shigaraki Art Festival to feature ceramic ware

The town of Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, which is famous for its ceramic ware, will host the Shigaraki Art Festival 2010 from Oct. 1 to Nov. 23.

Ceramic artworks will be displayed at various venues in the town and special exhibitions featuring ceramic wares will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art located in the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park and Miho Museum, both of which are in the city of Koka. At the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, an open-air exhibition and sale of ceramic wares are scheduled from Oct. 9 to 11.

The venue is accessible on foot from Shigaraki Station on the Shigaraki Kougen Railway's Shigaraki Line. From Shigaraki Station, the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park is a 20-minute walk and Miho Museum is a 20-minute taxi ride.

For more information and an access map, go to the organizer's website at tri.shigaraki-sp.com/ (in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean and Spanish).

We welcome your opinions. Click to send a message to the editor.