More than 100 artists will get together in Yokohama this weekend to turn the city into an art lover's paradise.
As part of an attempt to invigorate the local community, Yokohama Art Department #2 will zero in on young fledgling artists, with their submitted pieces spanning a broad array of genres and characterized by strong avant-gardism. Divided into 121 booths, artists will exhibit and sell their pieces in their own particular way.
Among the featured artists are Emiko Itokawa and Yumi Nakano, who, as self-described admirers of human-animal hybrid creatures, have been increasingly alarmed at the rising prevalence of cosplay (costume play) enthusiasts who sport tacky headdresses to impersonate animals. To retrieve the lost realism of such hair ornaments, the two women will showcase what they believe are authentic and exquisite duplications of bestial ears and horns.
The event is being hosted by a Yokohama-based organization called "artmania." Comprised of determined art lovers, the group was established with the aim of helping artists self-produce their pieces and to offer platforms for them to share information with each other.
If the art starts to wear on visitors, the festival's location in the Yokohama Creativecity Center makes for easy access to some of the city's top tourism sites.
Yokohama Art Department #02 takes place at Yokohama Creativecity Center in Yokohama on Sep 16. Tickets cost ¥500. For more information, call (045) 221-0325 or visit www.yokohama-art-department.com.