A blog related to original AI artworks.

Attending the NAU 21st Century Art Coalition Exhibition and the Toka Exhibition, and Joining the Party

Two exhibitions, the NAU 21st Century Art Coalition Exhibition and the Toka Exhibition, each featuring two 140 cm square artworks, were held on the weekend before last. I visited both and attended the parties. The venue was the National Art Center, Tokyo, with NAU on the first floor and the Toka Exhibition on the third floor, both located near the main entrance.

On Saturday, NAU hosted a party, but before that, there was a performance scheduled around 3 PM, so I went to the NAU exhibition at that time. The venue was relatively small, with paintings displayed on the walls, while installations and sculptures were placed slightly away from the walls. The following photos show my own artwork, with a sculpture positioned in front of it.

The awards were to be decided the next day, so at that moment, I did not know whether I would win or not.

The party started before 6 PM at a relatively small venue called Shamrock near the exhibition site. The “members” who arrived earlier were seated and hardly moved. I remained standing the entire time, only talking to others who were also standing or those who got up to get food. Since there was an all-you-can-drink selection of beers from various countries, I ended up drinking a bit too much. There were also dishes such as roast beef, which were continuously served, but strangely, the roast beef didn’t seem to be very popular.

The awards were announced on Sunday, but only two people received them, and I was not among them.

At the same time, the “Shinkaju-sha Exhibition” was also being held at the National Art Center. It occupied a larger space. Since framing was mandatory for this exhibition, I did not submit any works, but I asked the staff about it. As I walked through the exhibition with another person, I noticed some artworks that were not framed, as well as some with what appeared to be custom-made frames. I decided to consider submitting my work next year, so I left my business card and expect to receive an invitation.

I had already checked out the Toka Exhibition and my own works on Saturday. One of my pieces had a “Newcomer Award” label attached to it.

The award ceremony and the Toka Exhibition party took place that day. More than 20 people received awards, and they had been selected in advance, which was a significant difference from NAU. Even those who were just selected for the exhibition received small certificates, so I received two certificates, including the Newcomer Award.

The party was held in a larger venue compared to NAUʼs, so I was able to talk to people who were seated to some extent. I also spoke with someone who had displayed my artwork. I will likely receive an invitation to next yearʼs Toka Exhibition, and since I also talked with members of the Tokyo branch, I expect to receive an invitation to participate in their activities as well.

Compared to the previous day, the drinks were rather limited. Since I had drunk a bit too much the day before, I thought I would go for non-alcoholic beer if it was available. However, the only unsweetened soft drink seemed to be oolong tea, so I ended up drinking beer again.