Thanks to Tara Hohenberger (Nara-ken, 2001-03) (PR & Events Coordinator for Felissimo Design House) for sharing information about some cool upcoming events:
Shop at the Japan Brand Pop Up Shop
May 18th – May 30thAll freshly picked for spring and available in every price range!
Shop from our exceptional array of Japanese artisan products – from unique home décor accessories, stationery, one-of-a-kind textiles, cookware, beautiful fashion pieces and lacquer ware products in every shape and color . Come and see the regional spirit of Japan in specialized craft traditions that have been passed down through generations. Now these centuries-old skills are finding a fresh new expression in these contemporary products.
Felissimo Design House is open to the public
10 West 56th Street, New York City
11AM – 6PM (Closed on Sunday)
212-956-4438
Sign up now at www.felissimo.com for our exciting and informative public events series.
May 21: An evening of Sushi & Sake – Kanpai!
May 23 & 29: Spring Flowers! Create your own Japanese inspired floral arrangement with Eve Suter.
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The Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators (Kansai) presents:
Three Poets in Japan
Time: Sunday 17th May 2009 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Place: Venture Dream Office 2nd Floor Meeting Room (2 minutes from Hankyu Karasuma Station and Shijo Subway Station)
Fee: 500 yen for members and 1,000 yen for non-members
Reservations can be made through e-mail.
Yoko Danno, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, and Keiji Minato will discuss writing in both English and Japanese, translating and publishing poetry, and will also read their poetry.
Yoko will talk about why she started writing poetry in English more than forty years ago, and how she became interested in the roots and beginnings of Japanese culture and literature, especially the customs, imagery, thoughts and feelings of the folklore recorded in the Fudoki and the Kojiki compiled in the 8th century. Yoko will read some of her poems and translations.
Read More
JetWit job poster Stephen Palanik (Fukushima Ken, 2004-08) learned of the following events through the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto website and thought they might be of interest to former JETs in the Toronto area. Stephen is a translator based in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Ken, and he periodically posts job listings and event information for JET alumni.
Click the respective links for more information related to the following events taking place in the Toronto area at the end of April and throughout May.
April 29 – The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre hosts a Dedication to Bill Hashizume, the translator of an invaluable directory of Japanese living in Canada, published in 1921.
April 30 – The Tokyo String Quartet plays the secnd concert of a Beethoven cycle which will develop over two concerts each season of Music Toronto for three seasons.
May 1 – The Japan Foundation, Toronto presents ANTIMATTER: A Viewpoint on Contemporary Japanese Art, a lecture by Yuri Mitsuda, the Curator for the Shoto Museum of Art in Tokyo.
May 2 – It’s time once again for the annual JCCC Bazzar at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre!
May 3 to 31 – East Meets West – The Art of Gerald and Setsuko Lazare at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre is the coming together of two people from distinctly different cultures, in love with art, and how it affected their future lives and careers.
May 6 – After hugely successful performances for two years in a row, Katsura Sanshi, the Rakugo master, will be returning for the third time to Toronto for a single performance at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.
May 6 to 9 – The annual CanAsian International Dance Festival is known for the presentation of world-class, pan-Asian dance that ranges from rarely seen traditional dances, to cutting edge contemporary forms.
May 25 – The Canadian Soccer Association will host the Women’s National Soccer Team of Japan for an intermational friendly match.
JetWit job poster Stephen Palanik (Fukushima Ken, 2004-08) learned of the following photography show through the Embassy of Japan in Canada website and thought it might be of interest to former JETs in Gatineau and the surrounding area. Stephen is a translator based in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Ken, and he periodically posts job listings and event information for JET alumni.
Counter-Photography: Japan’s Artists Today
This exhibition brought to you by the Japan Foundation presents the work of eleven Japanese photographers sharing a common interest and pursuing a common ideal, to reveal the richness of the invisible or what is concealed in our material reality bereft of spirituality.
Date:
April 30 – June 7, 2009
Time:
Monday – Friday: 9am – 4:30pm, Thursdays: 9am – 8pm, Sundays: 12pm – 5pm
Location:
Galerie Montcalm, 25 rue Laurier, 1st floor, Gatineau
Admission:
Free
For more information, see the Ville de Gatineau webpage.
Artist Laurel Lukaszewski (Kagoshima-ken, 1990-92) is featured in a nice article “Ceramics That Go Beyond Cups and Bowls” in Friday’s Washington Post. The article focuses on how unique it is for an artist to be working with clay these days, particularly since it has nothing to do with bowls, cups and dishes.
Laurel has an upcoming show titled “A Fine Line” opening Thursday, April 23, in D.C. Together with Noelle K. Tan she will be showing her sculpture and Noelle Tan will have her altered photographs and prints.
A Fine Line
Works by Noelle K. Tan and Laurel Lukaszewski
505 9th Street, NW Lobby
Washington, DC
(near the Archives and Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stations)
Opening Reception and Artist Talk: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
The show runs April 23 through early July 2009 and is open weekdays 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
For more information, please visit: http://project4gallery.com/invitations/afineline/index.html
For more information on Laurel and her work, go to www.laurellukaszewski.com.
What’s the connection between JET alumni and the NY art scene? It turns out that a JET alum, Matt Schlecht (Akita-ken, 1998-99), is the editor of NY Art Beat (www.nyartbeat.com), an online art review and listings site, which grew out of Tokyo Art Beat. Matt says they’re always looking for writers to contribute to the NY Art Beat blog, which features reviews, interviews, and photo reports. So if there are any JET alums out there looking to gain exposure for their writing or photography, please feel free to get in touch with him.
Meanwhile, at the JET Alumni Author Showcase earlier today, a JET alum named Alan (I didn’t get his last name) mentioned that he’s an artist in NYC and would be interested in organizing a JET Alumni Artist Showcase one of these days. He inquired about the best way to go about making this happen, and after additional thought my suggestion would be…
- Someone should start a JET Alumni Art group, either on GoogleGroups or Facebook or whatever medium you prefer.
- Let me know about it so I can post info about it on JetWit
- Let JETAA NY and other chapters know about it so they can mention it in their announcements to their members (I can help with this part too)
JETAA Art Exhibit
Showcasing Japan-inspired art by former JET English teachers
JETAA Toronto is has put together a terrific event that both taps the JET alumni community’s talent and shows off the wonderful accomplishments as well.
When: Saturday, March 28 (7:30 pm) & Sunday, March 29 (1:30 pm)
Where: Gladstone Art Bar, 1214 Queen St. W., Toronto, ONFeeling sentimental about the land of rice and the rising sun? Never been and interested in an artistic adventure?
Come join Toronto’s JET Alumni Association for our first ever art show on Saturday, March 28. The art exhibit, titled Natsukashii (Japanese for sentimental), will feature a wide range of Japan-inspired art by our talented alumni members.
Have a drink with us as you admire their creativity, listen to tunes spun by a deejay and reminisce about the good times you had teaching Japanese kids the difference between Rs and Ls.
Those not members of JETAA are also welcome.
Doors at the Gladstone Art Bar, located on 1214 Queen St. W., open at 7:30 p.m. Cover is $5.
For questions, please email Amber Hildebrandt at jetaatoronto.sports@gmail.com.
More info on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/event.php?eid=55540550813&ref=nf
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KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games
KRAZY! (March 13-June 14) now contains a whopping 200 objects; we’ve reduced the ticket price from $12 to $10 ($8 students/seniors and FREE for children under 16); on the weekends we will hold back-to-back screenings of 7 full-length anime films in our 262-seat theater free to ticket-holders, and patrons will be able to sit and play the featured video games (including a console table Pac-Man) as well as browse hundreds of manga comic book titles.
See the full details below:
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Pac-Man, Paprika, Super Mario, and Afro Samurai: Welcome to New York!
Japan Society Gallery Celebrates the Japanese Art Forms of Anime, Manga, and Video Games in Spring 2009
New York, NY — Once considered the preserve of an insular youth culture, within the last decade Japanese animated cartoons (anime), comics and illustrated narratives (manga), and interactive video games have migrated into the mainstream, with reverberations both high and low. In a first for New York City, Japan Society explores this phenomenon in KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games from March 13 through June 14, 2009. Read More
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In his latest recurring column “Soft Power/Hard Truths” for the Daily Yomiuri, Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99) attempts to explain the phenomenon that is Afro-Samurai.
See his column here: http://japanamerica.blogspot.com/2009/01/afro-samurai-anime-and-game-follow-soft.html
Tara Hohenberger (Nara-ken, 2001-03) (PR & Events Coordinator for Felissimo Design House) has shared information for an intriguing upcoming exhibition at Felissimo Design House (10 W. 56th St. in NYC) which is featuring a collection of artisan produced products from 30 regions of Japan from Jan 25 – Feb 7, including glassware, furniture, ceramics, paper and textiles and well as lacquar and culinary ingredients.
Click “Read More” to read the full press release, or go to www.felissimo.com. Read More
Via JETAA Florida:
There is a Kimono Exhibition at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota until February 8th. http://www.ringling.org/Exhibitions_Kimono.aspx?id=274
JET alum Lars Martinson creatively updates readers on the progress on his graphic novel Tonoharu: Part 2 in a recent post on his blog (larsmartinson.com):
Progress Bar Key
Scripting/Page Layout: Self-explanatory
Artwork: The Drawing, Inking, and Computer Work for the comic
Final Edits/Incidentals: Post-Production Edits, Designing the Cover, Preparing for Press, etc.
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When I wrote the first progress report for Tonoharu: Part Two back in mid-July, I was a quarter of the way through the artwork. I concluded the entry saying I’d update on my progress again when the artwork was halfway done. I estimated/hoped that that update would come in “three or four months”,–>Click here to continue reading the post.
Listen to Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99) being interviewed on NPR’s “The World.” http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/23341 Summary below:
As a global power, Japan is fading, but increasing numbers of people outside the country are opting to learn Japanese. What’s fueling the new interest is a growing obsession with Japanese Manga comics and Japanese animation. The World’s Patrick Cox has the story.
Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, 2003-06), JETAA NY’s webmaster and a grad student in NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, will be presenting his interactive music interface, the head(banger)
phones, at the Interactive Telecommunications Winter Show at NYU this
Wednesday and Thursday nights (tonight and tomorrow night). So drop in to take a look. (721 Broadway, 4th Fl – just east of Washington Sq Park)
The show features a variety of interactive sights, sounds and physical
objects created by student artists. The show is FREE and open to the
public. No need to RSVP. Just show up any time during the 2 nights.
http://itp.nyu.edu/shows/winter2008/
Dec. 17th & 18th from 5pm to 9pm
@ 721 Broadway, 4th Fl
Lee-Sean AKA JETAANY.org Webmaster
http://leesean.net
Thanks to writer/designer Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, Uwajima-shi, Yoshida-cho, 2003-05) for her latest spin on the JetWit design, now on mugs, t-shirts and buttons!
