"It was an accident. All I wanted to do was meet people." With these words, Julia Barnes explains the origin of Eyesaw, a rapidly expanding organization now becoming a focus for up-and-coming contemporary artists in Japan.
Julia, a young video artist from New Zealand, arrived in Tokyo four years ago and found that her major problem was meeting other multimedia practitioners with whom to exchange ideas and information. She thought of reaching out through a magazine advert: "At first, I met five people, then 10, then 20. When it got to 50, I decided to organize some kind of structure to channel all this energy and talent."
That was in April 1999, and since then Eyesaw, the forum she founded, has gone from strength to strength. One of its main aims is to give contemporary artists here, especially those not yet established, a chance to exhibit to as wide an audience as possible at an affordable price. At solo two-week exhibitions throughout the year, and at two large annual exhibitions, artists can show their work in central Tokyo at a fraction of the normal cost.