Kyushu Crafts Club Opens on 10 December
Over the past few months, we have worked on an exhibition on the innovative maker culture of the Japanese island of Kyushu and its strategic role in regional development. The Kyushu Crafts Club will be officially launched on Thursday 10 December at Club Shop in Amsterdam.
Innovating Kyushu’s Traditional Crafts
Kyushu, the third-largest island in Japan, is bubbling over with craftsmanship and artistic spirit. It has been known for centuries for its ceramics, paper, tea, textiles, and more. Scattered over the island you will find many workshops where specialised makers hone their craft to perfection. Crafts are passed on from generation to generation but are now threatened with disappearance under the pressure of globalisation, automation and an ageing population. The Kyushu Crafts Club presents a young generation of makers who are readying Japanese crafts for the twenty-first century while staying true to tradition. The exhibition lets you see, feel and taste how they transform fireworks into a higher art form, unleash a green revolution in Japanese indigo production and use centuries-old washi paper for modern design — from printing to clothing.
Online and Offline Exhibition
We developed a web platform, kyushucrafts.club, that documents the stories and showcases the products of the fourteen makers. The website also functions as the home base for a series of exclusive virtual tours in which we meet the makers and pay a live visit to their workspaces in Japan. The pop-up exhibition takes place between 10 and 16 December 2020 at Club Shop in Amsterdam. The exhibition is a sensory experience that immerses visitors in the history, landscape and traditions of the Japanese island as well as its unique craft culture. Atmospheric film and photo collages give an exclusive insight into the creators’ workshops, you can touch their products and sample speciality tea all the way from Kyushu. The exhibition will also be transformed into a Japanese takeaway restaurant for one evening, where chefs from Kyushu serve donburi. Entrance is free, but please make sure to register a time slot on the website.
