Go for Kogei was established in 2020 as a new platform for promoting contemporary perspectives on craft (kogei) in the Hokuriku region. The prefectures of Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui are home to numerous craft centers known for unique natural materials and generations-old techniques. In the larger craft centers, cooperation among museums, universities, research centers, and workshops has promoted specialized research and development, creating a fertile environment for crafts to flourish in new ways that challenge established fields. Last year, Go for Kogei highlighted the region’s evolving crafts by hosting two large-scale exhibitions that juxtaposed new developments in craft with the adjacent fields of contemporary art and design.

This year’s theme is “Journey through the World of Craft.” The festival will reexamine contemporary society’s relationship with objects through the lens of craft, which forms the basis for all object-making. Craft production, which has long been a manual pursuit, continues to evolve. Encounters with craft objects from other times are not only an opportunity to learn about specific creators or regions but also the broader material culture of another era. Engaging with objects that seem unrelated to our own lives can produce new connections that slowly transform us, introducing fresh textures into our everyday spaces. Craft objects are perhaps the most intimately familiar manifestation of art.

The Go for Kogei 2022 special exhibition explores “the act of making,” presenting works within a chronic spectrum that incorporates returns to the primitive as well as cutting-edge technological innovations. Visitors can also connect with local artisans at regional craft festivals or enjoy a variety of special programs that introduce the culture and history of the Hokuriku region, which developed hand-in-hand with the region’s crafts.

From the timeless and the universal to the futuristic, we hope this journey through the world of Hokuriku’s crafts will offer new inspiration for your daily life. Let us be the first to welcome you to Hokuriku.