At the opening festival of the Fukuoka Prefectural Arts and Culture Festival (Tenjin Central Park), which opened on Saturday, October 4th, our university's Faculty of Art and Design participated in the planning using the power of design.
This year marks the second time the event has been held, and the event secretariat requested cooperation from our university, hoping to use the students' young ideas and planning skills to promote the event to people of the same generation. Students from Faculty of Art and Design therefore developed a plan to promote the appeal of local culture.
The spatial design of the venue was handled by the Kurita Toru LaboratoryDepartment of Living Environment Design. They proposed the layout of the booths in the main aisle and the installation of booth signs, taking into consideration the flow of visitors and visibility. In addition, with the aim of creating a sense of unity within the venue, they designed venue flags with bamboo flagpoles to echo the bamboo artwork installed in the center of the venue, contributing to the atmosphere of the entire festival.
Additionally, students from Department of Visual DesignDen Shogaku Laboratory and Mizuma Keiko Laboratory created "Fukuoka Karuta," a Fukuoka Prefecture-themed karuta set. Karuta in Japan is said to have originated in the Miike region of Chikugo around the end of the 16th century, and they worked to promote the appeal of Fukuoka. A karuta tournament was held at the same venue on the 5th (Sun). Nine teams participated, creating a great atmosphere.
In addition, "Atode," a volunteer group of faculty and students from Faculty of Art and Design set up a booth to sell merchandise and held a caricature-making workshop.
Katayama Itsuki, a third-year student in Department of Living Environment Design (Kyushu Sangyo University Kyushu High School), a member of the spatial design team, reflected, "We received feedback from people involved, who said, 'The exquisite aisle width that evokes the image of a back alley and the zigzag booth layout were groundbreaking and very good.' The spatial design helped to close the gap between visitors and the exhibiting artists, and we are pleased that we were able to contribute to the event."
Karin Itagaki (Hofu Nishi High School), a first-year student in Department of Visual Design at the same faculty and one of the production leaders of "Fukuoka Ruta," said, "This time, first- and second-year students worked together on everything from planning to production, including the reading cards, words, and illustrations, and we expressed the charm of Fukuoka through pictures and words. I am very happy that visitors were able to actually experience it."
[Faculty of Art and Design / Industry-Academia Co-innovation and Research Promotion Headquarters]
