Japanese Design Today 100

BANGKOK

[Duration] Wed 24 April – Sun 26 May 2019
(Closed on Mon and 9 May)

[Venue] Gallery 1fl. TCDC Bangkok

[Opening] Tue 23 April 2019 at 14:00 hrs.
@ Material & Design Innovation Center, 2nd fl. of TCDC back building

[Participants] 8,302 people

[Talk #1] The Matter of Things: So products design our life?
Tue 23 April 2019 at 15:30 hrs.

[Participants] 109 people

[Talk #2] By Ms. Noriko Kawakami
Journalist and Associate Director of 21_21 DESIGN INSIGHT
Sun 26 May 2019 at 14:00 hrs. @ Auditorium room

[Participants] 85 people

[Media coverage] N:2 AC Dept1 Arts and Cultural ProjectsFY2019201905 Japanese Design Today 100ReportBangkokClippings

CHIANG MAI

[Duration] Sat 8 June – Sun 30 June 2019
(Closed on Mon)

[Venue] Exhibition space TCDC Chiang Mai

[Opening] Sat 8 June 2019 at 18:00 hrs.
@ Exhibition space TCDC Chiang Mai

[Participants] 1,802 people

[Talk] By Mr. Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Design Critic and Professor at Musashino Art University
Sat 8 June 2019 at 16:30 hrs. @ Auditorium room

[Participants] 100 people

[Media coverage] N:2 AC Dept1 Arts and Cultural ProjectsFY2019201905 Japanese Design Today 100ReportChiang MaiExhibition reportClipping

KHON KAEN

[Duration] Fri 12 July – Sun 28 July 2019
(Open everyday except 16-17 July)

[Venue] Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts Gallery (FAG), Khon Kaen University

[Opening] Thu 11 July 2019 at 17:30 hrs.
@ Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts Gallery (FAG), Khon Kaen University

[Participants] 829

[Talk] By Assistant Professor Dr. Thanasit Chantaree
Instructor, Industrial design, Faculty of Architecture, Khon Kaen University

Ms. Jutamas Bunranajade & Mr. Piti Amraranga
Founders of o-d-a (object design alliance)
Thu 11 July 2019 at 16:30 hrs.

[Participants] 104

[Media coverage] N:2 AC Dept1 Arts and Cultural ProjectsFY2019201905 Japanese Design Today 100ReportKhon KaenClippings

Japanese Design Today 100

Curated by:
Hiroshi Kashiwagi (Design Critic, Professor at Musashino Art University)
Masafumi Fukagawa (Curator)
Shu Hagiwara (Design Director)
Noriko Kawakami (Journalist, Associate Director of 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT)

Japanese product design has long been acclaimed internationally due to its subtle and unique characteristics. According to Hiroshi Kashiwagi, a Design Critic and Professor at Musashino Art University, the common traits of contemporary design, be it craft-liked qualities, minimalism, attentiveness, compactness and cuteness, are indeed essentially rooted in traditional Japanese culture.

The Japan Foundation, Bangkok, in collaboration with Creative Economy Agency (CEA) via TCDC Bangkok, TCDC Chiang Mai, TCDC Khon Kaen as well as the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts Gallery (FAG) Khon Kaen University, are pleased to co-organize the traveling exhibition “Japanese Design Today 100” during April – July 2019 at three venues across three different regions in Thailand. The exhibition will start at TCDC Bangkok and then go to TCDC Chiang Mai in the North before traveling to the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts Gallery, Khon Kaen University in the Northeast, significantly marking the ongoing cultural exchanges and cooperation between Thailand and Japan in this Mekong-Japan Exchange Year in 2019.

The exhibition “Japanese Design Today 100,” initially organized in 2004 and then renewed in 2014, features 100 finest examples of Japanese design with a focus on everyday products. It combines superbly designed products of recent years with a group of classic and modern designs. Eleven of 100 products showcase the postwar designs, for instance, Nikon F camera and Toshiba’s electric rice-cooker while 89 of the rest depict modern designs produced after 2010 such as Sony’s handycam and Panasonic’s touchpad. The word “today” in the exhibition thus comprehensively encompasses the time frame dated back from the 1950s to after 2010 that had a significant influence on the design of today.

The products exhibited are divided into 10 categories: Classic Japanese Design, Furniture and Housewares, Tableware and Cookware, Apparel and Accessories, Children, Stationery, Hobbies, Healthcare, Disaster Relief and Transportation. We believe that the design of household products could be a mirror, reflecting the life of our society and the personal lifestyles of individuals. These designs render a vivid picture of hopes and dreams of the people who use the products as well as the designers and corporations who create them.

Opening events of