Go for Kogei 2022 – Hokuriku Crafts Festival has opened on September 17th. The festival contunies until October 23rd, for a period of 37 days.

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About “GO FOR KOGEI 2022”

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.

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Special Exhibition:

The Act of Making: Intersections of Region, Lifestyle, and Faith is a sequel to last year’s exhibition, The Future of Craft Aesthetics: Kogei, Contemporary Art, and Art Brut, which explored the relationship and creative potential of materials and processes that transcend the boundaries of genre. This year’s exhibition explores the uses and techniques surrounding a diverse range of materials, including fibers, textiles, ceramics, lacquer, metal, wood, and paper, recontextualizing them within the broader scope of “the act of making” as seen through the creative endeavors of the participating artists.

Participating Artists:
Fukumoto Shihoko,Hashimoto Masaya,Hosoo Masataka,Inoue Yui,Irisawa Taku,Kamae Kazumi,Kashio Satomi,Kawai Yumiko,Komoriya Akira,Kondo Nanase,Konoike Tomoko,Kosogawa Runa,Miyaki Ana,Nara Yuki,Niisato Akio,Ogasawara Shin,Roppongi Yurika,Sago Michiko,Ukai Kohei,Yoshida Shinichiro.

Curation:
Akimoto Yuji, Takayama Kentaro

Site Design:
Suo Takashi

Dates:
September 17 (Saturday) – October 23 (Sunday), 2022

Holidays:
None. The exhibition will be open every day for the dates above.

Hours:
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
*Natadera Temple Hours: 9:15 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Venues:
Shokoji Temple (17-1 Fushiki Furukokufu, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture),
Natadera Temple (Yu-122, Natamachi, Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture),
Otaki-Okamoto Shrines（13-1 Otakicho, Echizen, Fukui Prefecture）