Design Festa 09

Design Festa is a huge community art event held twice a year in the Tokyo Big Sight convention hall on Odaiba. 1000 yen gets you a one day pass to explore the 2500 plus art spaces set up inside. Most of the "creators" are amateur artists and hobbyists, but their skill level and creativity is well developed and you won't be disappointed. I went on Saturday, May 16 and after spending seven hours there, my feet were worn out!

There is a fashion section with hand-made apparel, funky t-shirts and accessories for sale. The craft area is chock full of dolls, paper craft and other original creations. But the bulk of the event is devoted to art. From illustrations of cute characters to live performances to inventive photography, you will be overloaded by the amount of talent. And in-between all this creativity, you're sure to find a number of surprises and just plain wackiness.

What I enjoy the most about Design Festa is the spirit of the people. They are there not just to make sales, but rather to share their art with others. Even with the language barrier, everyone I spoke with enjoyed telling me about their works. For more info check out www.designfesta.com.


Many of the artists offer postcards of their work for sale for 100 or 150 yen. It's fun to collect the art you like this way. I bought ten postcards.


This young girl made these stuffed creatures. The detail of each doll is amazing!


This guy was wearing a signboard offering to take a photo of you as you jump. On his table he displayed postcards of jumpers from previous Design Festa events. After I did it, I asked him to jump for me!


Some of the artists offered to draw your portrait for only 100 yen! I want to get mine next time.


A young artist in her booth space. A small space costs about $200 for the two day event.


Some Design Festa fun!

For more Design Festa pics, go to my Flickr.