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Kimono x Komono
きもの x こもの
by MIYABI & PETIT KIMONO
7-13 June 2018
The history of kimono, the national costume of Japan, dates back to ancient times, and techniques such as spinning a cocoon, dyeing and weaving have been passed on from time immemorial. Unfortunately nowadays kimonos are used only during special events.
MIYABI and PETIT KIMONO transformed, stitch by stitch, the kimonos that belonged to their ancestors generation after generation into small cute objects and mini-kimono, inspired by Japanese seasons, Japanese food and Japanese traditions.
They have successfully exhibited in Japan and in Paris, and this is their first solo exhibition in the UK.
ABOUT MIYABI (Masako Ishihara・mother)
She has been teaching for 35 years, as a ‘kimono coordinator’, kimono-making techniques, kimono tailoring and classes on how to put a kimono on.
MIYABI decided to use the kimono and Japanese fabrics that she had in a drawer, in order to introduce a piece of Japanese tradition to the world.
ABOUT PETIT KIMONO (Tazuko Ishihara・daughter)
Since she was little, she has always been surrounded by kimono and silk fabrics. She can combine different colours to make miniature ‘kawaii’ (cute) Japanese objects.
FREE ENTRY
OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday 7th June 6pm – 8pm
Opening hours: Monday – Friday 11am – 7pm
Saturday (9 June only) 12pm – 6pm
Sunday closed
Image by Ken Adlard c Tatsuo Miyajima Courtesy Lisson Gallery
16 June to 23 September 2018
Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am – 5pm; free
Tatsuo Miyajima is one of Japan’s foremost contemporary artists. Through his work he explores the concept of time, incorporating original material made around the establishment of Greenwich Mean Time in 1884 with his trademark “Miyajima numbers”. For his latest work, Miyajima has collaborated with William Morris, using his iconic Bird fabric from 1878 to create a new work in the series.
An exhibition on the Story Lounge (first floor landing).
Supported by the Japan Foundation
Japanese Innovators Pioneers in Experimental Sounds
A series of gigs featuring artists from Japanese underground scenes responsible for genre-defining music over the past 40 years.
From the ground breaking electronics of Yellow Magic Orchestra to the sonic arts of Ryoji Ikeda and quirky Pop of Mariah, these are artists that changed the face of music as we know it. Yet it isn’t culturally defining moments in American music, but Japanese underground scenes from which they’ve emerged.
“Creating architecture is like planting seeds of the future” ‒ Sou Fujimoto
‘SOU FUJIMOTO: FUTURES OF THE FUTURE’, is an exhibition held in collaboration with Tokyo’s TOTO GALLERY・MA. Seen for the first time in the UK, the exhibition explores the innovative works of one of Japan’s most influential contemporary architects. Fujimoto’s vision of the future is not a fully imagined set of assumptions but is to plant the seeds of inspiration and potential. This exhibition looks at not only current projects but also Fujimoto’s architectural experiments for the future asking the visitor to share in imagining a variety of futures of the future.
Accompanying the exhibition is a lecture by Sou Fujimoto on 12 June, at the Design Museum, entitled ‘Sou Fujimoto: Futures of the Future’, followed by a session in conversation with The Guardian’s architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright.
In addition, Fujimoto also presents ‘Architecture is Everywhere’ which illustrates the concept of discovering architecture within the forms of everyday objects: the serendipity of finding numerous possibilities for new architecture.
Sou Fujimoto
Born in Hokkaido in 1971 and a graduate of the University of Tokyo, Department of Architecture, Sou Fujimoto established Sou Fujimoto Architects in 2000. Some of his most notable works include Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013, House NA (2011), Musashino Art University Museum & Library (2010), Final Wooden House (2008) and House N (2008).
In collaboration with TOTO GALLERY·MA, Tokyo and a part of the London Festival of Architecture
The #MeToo movement swiftly spread from America to the UK in October 2017, with thousands of women sharing their stories of sexual abuse or misconduct on social media. The movement’s impact spread beyond the internet, with prominent examples including allegations of sexual misconduct levelled at government figures, leading to the resignation of UK Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, accusations of misconduct within the aid industry, and the President’s Club scandal.
Although initially slower to take off, the #MeToo movement has also gained momentum in Japan. The movement has given women a platform enabling their voices to be heard, leading to more women speaking out about sexual misconduct. As in the UK, members of the government have been implicated, most notably with the resignation of Junichi Fukuda, the top bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance, after he was accused of sexual harassment by a journalist.
In this seminar, the impact of #MeToo will be discussed in relation to the UK and Japan. The speakers will outline the implications and effects the movement has had across each society and the extent to which it may impact government policies and legislation, as well as the challenges that the movement faces.
About the contributors
Sophie Walker
Sophie Walker is Leader of the Women’s Equality Party, Britain’s first feminist political party which campaigns for women’s rights. In 2016 she ran for London Mayor on a manifesto to close the city’s 23% pay gap and lack of affordable childcare, winning 1 in every 20 votes cast. In 2017 she contested the seat of the ‘men’s rights activist’ MP Philip Davies after he filibustered a bill to end violence against women and girls, and helped to halve his constituency majority. Sophie recently won 90% of the vote in the Party’s first leadership election. Previously a Reuters correspondent for 20 years, Sophie came to politics via disability campaigning and activism and is an ambassador for the National Autistic Society and for IncludeMEtoo.
Asako Osaki
Asako Osaki, Visiting Professor at Kwansei Gakuin University, School of Policy Studies, is a specialist in gender issues. She began her career at the United Nations Development Programme, focusing on the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Since returning to Tokyo, she has been active in mainstreaming gender in Japan’s development assistance policies and programmes, as well as in addressing domestic gender issues such as poverty and violence, working with the Government, NGOs and research institutions. At the APEC Women and Economy forum 2014, Osaki presented on the “Economic Empowerment of Women in the Post-Disaster Reconstruction Process”. She also participated in the 2016 W20 (G20 Women’s Forum) as part of the Government of Japan’s official delegation.
Shiori Ito
Shiori Ito is a freelance journalist, documentary film-maker and author of Black Box (2017). Her work is mainly distributed overseas, and has been shown on international media outlets such as Al Jazeera and Reuters. At the 2018 New York Festivals, an international media competition, Ito won two silver medals in the Social Issues and Sports Documentary categories. She also won the 7th Free Press Association Award Grand Prize in Japan for Black Box. This book is about her own investigation and experience of Japan’s sexual violence situation. Ito is currently working on a BBC documentary about sexual violence in Japan.
Dan Damon
Dan Damon (Chair) is a BBC journalist and radio broadcaster who presents World Update for the BBC World Service. Damon joined the BBC in 1974 as a technical operator for radio news. His move into journalism took place in 1982 with a nightly phone-in on LBC. In 1988, he moved to Hungary with his camerawoman wife, Siân, to report on liberation and street protest in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania and the former Soviet Union. Damon also reported from conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia, Baghdad during the first Gulf War, and Afghanistan. He then returned to the BBC in 1995 to work as a presenter and reporter for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. In 2003 Damon became the main presenter of World Update on the BBC World Service.
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle (entrance facing Regent’s Park), London NW1 4QP
Free, booking essential.
Closing the gender gap by 2030: Lessons from Japan and the UK
Admission free, Booking essential
Despite the Japanese government’s commitment to creating a “society where all women shine”, progress in achieving this is still limited. In 2017, Japan dropped to 114th place on the Global Gender Gap Index produced by the World Economic Forum, evidencing the magnitude of the problem in this country. Whilst the UK was ranked 15th, there are still several areas in which the country still performs poorly, such as the gender pay gap. In this seminar, gender advisors to governments in both Japan and the UK will discuss the current status of the gender gap in each country, what policies and programmes have been implemented, what challenges still exist and future recommendations. A policy analyst from the OECD will then present a wider perspective of the gender gap situation in OECD countries and their tendencies.
The event is organised in cooperation with the Department of Law, LSE and will take place at the Thai Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics.
Thu.28th /June – Mon.16th /July 2018
Private view Thursday 28th / June 18:00 – 20:00 Please rsvp: https://bit.ly/2IvUPTo
*Stencil Workshop on Saturday 30th / June from 11:00 till 14:00
70-72 Old Street, London, EC1V 9AN
Tel: +44 (0)20 7637 1700
Opening hours: Mon – Fri. 11:00 – 19:00
Weekends by appointment only
sway-gallery.com instagram: swaygallerylondon
Printmaker Yoko Kataoka presents her textile work inspired by rural life in the Catalan woods, Spain. ”Uraraka” is a Japanese word with a dual meaning: a fine and peaceful day in Spring, or the clear state of a cloudless mind. Yoko hopes that her “Uraraka” works will brighten up your daily life with cheerful colours and feelings, and that her exhibition will be an opportunity for everyone to discover the Uraraka way of living.
Anivian Promotions presents:
Crystal Lake live at Boston Music Room.
Japanese metal outfit Crystal Lake return to London on 4th July 2018 for a one off headline show.
Support comes from Napoleon, Carcer City, Of Virtue and The Royal
Wednesday 4th July 2018
Boston Music Room, London
14+ under 16’s must be accompanied by a paying adult.
£10 Advance // £15 On The Door
Doors 7pm
Yuko Mohri at Camden Arts Centre
Following her residency at Camden Arts Centre in 2016, Yuko Mohri returns with a new installation that orchestrates relations between electromagnetic force-fields, patterns of light moving through water and a reconfigured Yamaha reed organ from 1934. Developed responsively to the architecture and surrounding environment of the galleries, Mohri’s audio-spatial composition reveals the interconnectedness of man-made and natural processes, inviting non-human agents and chance factors to determine the score.
In this new commission, error, improvisation and feedback figure in an acoustic environment that maps shifting relationships between material things and conceptual propositions. Music and sound are central to Mohri’s practice. Her involvement with the experimental music scene in Japan has included collaborations with Otomo Yoshihide and the internationally acclaimed composer, pianist and electronic musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. As part of Voluta, sound art pioneer Akio Suzuki will perform live in the gallery.
Please note Camden Arts Centre is closed on Mondays.
Supported by Arts Council Tokyo, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Terumo Foundation for Life Sciences and Arts and the Yuko Mohri Exhibition Circle
Yuko Mohri (b. 1980, Kanagawa, Japan) is an artist whose installations detect invisible and intangible forces such as magnetism, gravity and light. In 2015, Mohri received a grant from the Asian Cultural Council for a residency in New York. She has participated in a number of exhibitions both in Japan and abroad, including the 14th Biennale de Lyon 2017 (France), Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016 (India) and the Yokohama Triennale 2014. Mohri is the Grand Prix winner of the Nissan Art Award 2015 and is also the recipient of Culture and Future Prize at the 65th Kanagawa Cultural Award in 2016 and the New Artist Award at the 67th Japanese Ministry of Education Award for Fine Arts in 2017.
The Penal Code of Japan: Sex without consent isn’t rape?
Talk event with the first incorporated sexual assault survivors’ organisation in Japan
In June last year (2017), the penal code regarding sex crimes in Japan was reformed significantly for the first time in 110 years. While this is a big step forward, many problems remain. For example, the reform did not abolish the clause that requires the use of “violence or intimidation” by the perpetrator – and the need for the victim to present evidence that they resisted fiercely – to establish a rape case. The concept of ‘consent’ remains absent from the law. Moreover, the statue of limitation prevents those who were sexually abused as children from pressing charges due to the statute of limitation; and it remains difficult to get sexual violence between partners recognised as a crime.
Spring, the first incorporated sexual assault survivors’ organisation in Japan, is working hard to resolve these issues. They started Believe Campaign in 2016 with three other organisations – Tomorrow Girls Troop, Shiawase Namida, and Chabujo – to push for the reform, lobbying politicians, organising public events, and starting online campaigns and a petition (which was signed by over 50,000 people before they handed it over to the Minister of Justice). Their campaign was covered by major Japanese media outlets on several occasions.
Together with a group of journalists, clinical psychologists, and lawyers, members of Spring are visiting the UK to get some inspiration about how things can be improved in Japan in terms of legal reform, support systems, and social change. We’ve decided to hold this event to introduce Spring’s work in Japan, to talk about the reality of sexual violence in Japan and the people working hard trying to change it, and to exchange ideas about how to realise a better world for everyone including survivors of sexual violence.
Everyone is welcome. For more details and to reserve your seat, please visit this link: http://spring-uk-1107.eventbrite.co.uk