Israeli art heads to iconic Japanese art & design festival
During the ten-day festival, art and exhibitions are displayed across Tokyo, transforming the entire city into a museum.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF(photo credit: GAL SHARIR & IDAN SIDI)
Artists and designers who took part in the Jerusalem Design Week exhibition will represent Israel at DesignArt Tokyo, an iconic Japanese Art & Design Festival from October 18 to 27, according to a press release.Israel will be a partner country of this year’s festival, which is expected to attract 200,000 visitors, beating last year’s 120,000 attendees.Israel’s ambassador to Japan, H.E. Yaffa Ben-Ari, said he is “thrilled” to show off “Israel's exceptional and innovative design – dating back to our ancient culture, inspired by its current creative energy.”DesignArt Tokyo, one of Japan’s largest art and design festivals, is held every autumn. Centering around “Emotions,” it displays interiors, art, fashion and food from all over the world, collected with a genre-defying spirit.During the ten-day festival, art and exhibitions are displayed across Tokyo, transforming the entire city into a museum. Visitors can even purchase the art, too.Bar Horowitz & The Arab Blind Association Broom Workshop (photo credit: ODED ANTMAN)Israeli artists and designers will be taking part in a special exhibit entitled ‘Garden of Eden’ which will lead visitors through a series of projects with an Israeli perspective on nature, culture, technology and myths. The journey culminates in the Spiral garden, where two myths of Israel’s resources meet: the salt of the Dead Sea, and wheat, a generator of the agricultural revolution and of modern life.In between these myths of life and death, architectural interpretations of local flowers are hidden in secret private gardens which, like the original Garden of Eden, can only be imagined.Mordechai Benita, CEO of the Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry which runs Jerusalem Design Week, said, “We are proud to be hosted in Tokyo for the first time, and grateful for the extraordinary opportunity to unveil innovative, local work to an international audience.“The inclusion of Jerusalem Design Week in Tokyo proves that Jerusalem is positioned precisely in this place," Benita added. "We are proud of the positive exposure the city receives, and continue to strive to promote further collaborations."
