This is the second year that the Japan Society has invited its members (of all ages) to submit work for an annual open art exhibition. Once again the beautiful high-ceilinged gallery space at the Japanese Embassy will host the exhibition with an eclectic and lively mix of submissions, ranging from delicate watercolour paintings to collages and sculpture.
The Japan Society was established in 1891 and is the oldest Japan-related society in the UK. Dedicated to the enhancement of Anglo-Japanese relations, its membership includes over 1000 individual and corporate members and this exhibition celebrates their creativity and ingenuity.
The theme for this year's exhibition is Asobi, a Japanese word that is usually translated as play. The word has a broad meaning that includes ideas about freedom from constraint; a gap or space between things; and a certain aimless travelling from one place to another. In both the UK and Japan aimlessness can be considered undesirable in our goal-orientated cultures, meanwhile 'playing at something' is often used to indicate a lack of seriousness and rigour. But of course playing and doing things without a specific aim or goal is an essential aspect of our process of learning. Play is also essential in building relationships and testing out ways of doing things, so naturally creativity and play have a fluid and symbiotic relationship. To make something new; to have a new thought (or work at an old thought; to find a new way of combining things or a new use for an old material, requires a certain open-mindedness and the ability to venture away from the prescribed and embrace the unexpected.
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