I’ve just now gotten my confirmation for signing up for Design Festa vol 29. Design Festa is Asia’s largest freestyle art event. The term “art fair” really doesn’t do it justice. Twice a year, approximately 3,500 artists take over “Tokyo Big Sight“, the iconic Tokyo conference center. Next May, I will be one of them.
The way Design Festa works is that anyone can obtain a booth. It is then up to you as to what to do with your two tatami mats worth of floor. Photos I’ve seen online range from people showing off paintings, selling t-shirts, jewelry, and vinyl figurines, rocking out on electric guitar, dressing up as a horse while painting a picture of a horse, doing crazy performance art, selling cardboard robots, metal monsters, and tiny faces painted on matchstick heads. A personal favorite appeared to be a booth that sold or rented paper bags with happy animal faces drawn on them. The idea, as described in an illustration, was that if you were sad, you would put one of these on your head, and it made you happier. As I said, anything goes.
The more I look around, the more strange and intriguing stuff I find. (Beautiful tiny dyed fish skeletons!?) While I’m not too sure what to expect, other than an adventure, it is my plan to take myself and a large number of critters to Tokyo in May, 2009.
I just finished exhibiting my work at the November Vol.28, it was more than I bargained for. One tip I quickly picked up is that 90% of the people at the booths aren’t inviting, so I was literally bowing, smiling, waving people over and I found that, just being over friendly, brought me 75% more people and photos of me taken than I’d imagine I’d get if I wasn’t making an effort. Another strange deal is at 11:00 or whenever it officially it starts, it’s non stop, a steady stream of people until it’s over. I might be in Tokyo around then but the event was so exhausting and I got so much publicity I doudt I’ll want to exhibit my work for another year or two. Good luck, I’m sure people will appreciate your works.
Awesome!! It’s so great to hear from someone who’s participated in Design Festa. I am really looking forward to May!
Thanks for your advice!