Ceramic sumo wrestlers, stained glass landscapes, Japanese pottery in fluorescent colors and aliens drawn in the traditional monochrome "sumi-e" style: these are some of the works by international students currently on display at a Tokyo gallery.
Works of 500 students, ages 11 through 18, from nine international and Japanese schools in the metropolitan area and Kanagawa Prefecture, are being shown until Sunday at the Atrium Gallery of the National Children's Castle in Shibuya Ward.
Entitled Artscape '98, the exhibit is a showcase of works by students who represent 50 different nationalities and who seek to create an artistic forum of exchange by placing their varied works side by side.
The gallery's entrance displays four collective panels of the seasons, created by students from the International School of the Sacred Heart and Musashino Higashi Gakuen, a Japanese school.
On Sunday, teachers and students from the international schools will present an art workshop for visitors in the museum's lobby, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year the workshop will feature ceramic making and other arts. "The students work together and somehow learn to break the language barrier through their art. It's really exciting to see," said Teri Suzanne, director of the international division at the National Children's Castle.