Design Festa (Desafes)
Design Festa is one of Asia’s largest festivals for creators. Commonly known as “Desafes,” the event is held twice a year at Tokyo Big Sight (three times a year if you include Midsummer Design Festa).
More than 10,000 artists gather from Japan and around the world to exhibit and sell paintings, accessories, handmade goods and more — each drawing on their own skills and individuality — resulting in enormous excitement throughout the run.
Design Festa Vol.47
The edition we visited this time was the spring Design Festa vol.47, held May 12–13, 2018. Even before the 11 a.m. opening, a long line had already formed. Countless fans queued up, eager to reach their target booths first and secure the items they had in mind.
The line stretched from outside the building all the way to the entrance — too many people to count.
Admission is 1,000 yen per day (free for elementary-school-age children and younger) — very much a full-fledged paid event.
Tokyo Big Sight
The venue is the West Hall of Tokyo Big Sight.
One of the exhibiting artists we spoke with had actually chosen to participate specifically because the event was being held in the West Hall. Indeed, the atmosphere on the first floor of the West Hall had a distinct feel of its own.
Design Festa × Art
Design Festa has an enormous number of exhibitors — 5,000 booths in all. Even spending just one minute per booth would take 5,000 minutes — 83 hours! Even across two days, seeing everything is virtually impossible. Since this site focuses on contemporary art, we toured the booths through an “art” lens.
Paintings
The paintings on display spanned a wide range of genres.
Three-dimensional Works
Craft Works
Alongside plenty of works with strong otaku-culture leanings — such as figures — there were also many booths with genuine artistic sensibility.
Live Painting
Live painting is one of Design Festa’s signature features, unfolding in many places throughout the venue.
An Event Where You Can Meet the Artists
Beyond the encounters with intriguing items and works, one of the greatest joys of Design Festa is being able to meet — and talk with — the artists and makers themselves.
Meeting the creators lets you grasp the worldview of the work in a much more vivid way, and touching their character stirs personal feelings toward them as artists. It seems to be the same for the artists themselves — a rare opportunity to hear opinions and impressions not only from fans but from the general public, becoming a major motivation for their creative work.
https://art-on.jp/chihiro-kawai-designfes47/
In Closing
Design Festa is a genuinely enjoyable event where both visitors and exhibitors come away happy.
Because so many artists want to participate, simply paying the fee doesn’t guarantee a booth — the organizers select exhibitors by lottery, which brings a degree of uncertainty. Still, when a work resonates, the event links directly to building a fan base and selling art. The number of visitors grows every year, and the fourth-floor area was so packed with energy that the room temperature clearly rose (short sleeves recommended).
For seasoned gallery-hopping art fans, this may well qualify as an “art fair” all its own.
Event Details
Name: Design Festa vol.47
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight, West Hall (entire hall)
Dates: May 12 (Sat.) & 13 (Sun.), 2018
Content: Original artwork exhibitions, sales, performances, etc.
Booths: 5,000 booths
Exhibitors: 15,000 (estimated)
Application period: Opens November 28, 2017 (planned)
