The Fukagawa district in Koto Ward, Tokyo, will transform into an outdoor art museum when about 300 paintings and illustrations by disabled artists will be displayed at local temples and shrines as well as shopping malls.
The November event, Fukagawa-Artpara "Chatting Arts Festival," is also calling for entries to a juried exhibition aimed at discovering unknown disabled artists.
Coupled with the goal of creating more opportunities for the disabled to shine, the festival's organizing committee of about 60, which includes local residents, also hopes the project will bring life to the streets of Fukagawa.
Originally, the festival was scheduled to liven up Tokyo for the Olympics Games and coincide with the Paralympics in August, when many tourists were to visit, but now it will take place from Nov. 15 to 23 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The festival will feature various events, such as a gospel concert, sales of local delicacies and display of a mikoshi portable shrine decorated with more than 200 ema wooden tablets boasting art created by children going to a special-needs school in the ward. The approximate 300 artworks will add colors to the town in a collaboration with Able Art Company, a Nara Prefecture-based group supporting artistic activities by disabled people.
"It's a pretty rare thing to do isn't it, exhibit artwork by disabled people in temples, shrines and shopping malls. I hope this event increases the number of our town fans," said Kinichi Ueda, 57, who heads the festival's organizing committee. He runs a senbei rice cracker shop along the approach to Fukagawa Fudodo, a Tokyo branch of Naritasan Shinshoji temple in Chiba Prefecture.
Judges of the juried exhibition include Novelist Mariko Hayashi and actor Tetsuya Bessho.
"Shitamachi [downtown] was the cultural hub of Edo [the old name for Tokyo]. Fukagawa in particular was a place where people felt both familiarity and respect, because there were several popular shrines and temples. I've been very much looking forward to an exhibition by disabled artists held in such a place," Hayashi said.
To enter the juried exhibition, one should have some form of disability. An individual or a group can submit up to three works. There is no restriction on the subject matter or material, but each piece should be either two-dimensional or three-dimensional and not taller than 2.2 meters. Works that have won an award in the past are ineligible. The entry deadline is July 31.
Prize winners, including a grand prize winner and runner up, will be selected from a shortlist of about 150 who will be chosen from all entries via photo selection. The prize-winning works will be exhibited at two venues during the festival, including an underground gallery of the Fukagawa Fudodo temple.
"I hope this festival will be held every year, to support artists with a disability, and revitalize local culture and tourism," said Tokyo Polytechnic University Prof. Osamu Fukushima, who serves as the general producer of the festival.
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