About the Event
Avant garde fashion designer Issey Miyake’s No. 1 Dress in all its gorgeously pleated glory; the finely crafted children’s Bentwood Cycle made of local beech wood; the seemingly floating airvase paper container these three and 97 more will be showcased at Japanese Design Today 100 , the traveling product exhibition proudly presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM), the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (MET) and the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, with support from JT International (Philippines) Inc. It will run at the Tall Galleries of MET from June 30 to August 19, 2016.
The exhibition was first organized by the Japan Foundation in 2004 and has been touring the world for the past 12 years. Its updated version features 100 of the finest examples of Japanese design with a focus on everyday products, 11 of which are postwar designs from 1950s to 1990s that had significant influence on the Japanese design of today. Product categories range from Furniture and Housewares to Healthcare; Apparel and Accessories to Transportation.
The design of household products serves as a mirror reflecting the hopes and dreams of the people who use them and the designers and companies who create them. “This exhibition can be approached as a case study of Japanese design or it can be enjoyed in a more casual way, as if taking a trip to a foreign country,” writes Hiroshi Kashiwagi, the exhibition’s chief curator, in the catalog foreword.
Kashiwagi is scheduled to hold a design dialogue at the MET on July 2 to discuss the diverse facets of Japanese product design.
Architect Keiji Ashizawa of Ishinomaki Lab, whose designs are included in the exhibition under the Disaster Relief category, will hold a oneday design workshop on July 29 and a design dialogue with Plus63 Design Co.’s cofounder Dan Matutina on July 30, at the MET.
Japanese Design Today 100 will be on view alongside the parallel exhibition Conversations on Philippine Design at the Galeriya Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP Gallery) featuring stunning furniture and crafts by esteemed Filipino designers . The cultural dialogue through these exhibitions is timely, as 2016 marks the anniversary of “60 Years of PhilippinesJapan Friendship,” as well as the 20th anniversary of the Japan Foundation, Manila.
For inquiries, call the Japan Foundation, Manila at landline numbers (02) 8116156 to 58 or send a message to arts@jfmo.org.ph . Visit www.jfmo.org.ph for more information and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jfmanila/ for updates.
The Metropolitan Museum of Manila is located at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Manila. It is open Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
* Photo Credits : airvase by Satomi Tomita; No. 1 Dress by Hiroshi Iwasaki; Bentwood Cycle courtesy of WASARA Co., Ltd.
About the Japan Foundation, Manila
The Japan Foundation was established in 1972 by special legislation in the Japanese Diet and became an Independent Administrative Institution in October 2003. The mission of the Japan Foundation is to promote international cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. As the18th overseas office, the J apan Foundation, Manila was founded in 1996, active in three focused areas: Arts and Culture; Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange; JapaneseLanguage Education Overseas. For more information please visit our website at www.jfmo.org.ph .