Field of Craft Kurashiki 2024 (Held on May 11-12, 2024) ~ An Outdoor Craft Exhibition Where Makers and Users Can Freely Interact

Everyday life tools are something you want to choose by seeing with your own eyes and touching with your own hands, don't you?

In Kurashiki, every year during the fresh green season, an outdoor craft exhibition called Field of Craft Kurashiki is held, allowing makers and users to freely interact.

In 2024, it was held for two days from May 11 to 12 in front of Geibunkan Hall.

I will report on the Field of Craft Kurashiki, where makers say, "We are exhibiting precisely because it is held in Kurashiki."

What is Field of Craft Kurashiki 2024?

Field of Craft Kurashiki is held once a year under the intention of "holding an outdoor craft exhibition where makers and users can freely interact and letting many people know about craft works and the background of craftsmanship."

In 2024, 76 exhibitors of ceramics, glass, and more from the east Kanto region to the west Kyushu region, 9 workshops, and 15 restaurants (some participating for just one day) exhibited.

Since artists gather not only from the vicinity of Kurashiki City but from across the country, it is a chance to encounter favorite items that are usually hard to obtain and delicious food.

Please check the details of the exhibitors in the image below.

I visited the venue on the morning of the first day, May 11.

Although the venue had just opened, it was already full of people.

It seems that people who had decided on their target products were forming long lines to purchase them.

Encounters with artists and works

The venue functions as a valuable place where many of the exhibiting artists stand at their booths, allowing makers and users of handmade goods to meet face to face and communicate directly.

Because handmade tools are things used in daily life, it is important to actually hold and touch them, and to think about how to incorporate them into various aspects of life through interactions with the makers.

All participants were enjoying picking up their favorite works with excited expressions and communicating with the makers.

I also reunited with a ceramic artist I met a few years ago at a pottery fair held in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture.

They told me, "Perhaps because Kurashiki has a history of a vibrant folk craft movement, there are many people who incorporate the handmade work of artists like us into their daily lives. Therefore, I actively participate when events are held in Kurashiki," which made me very happy as a citizen of Kurashiki City.

Encounters with craftsmanship

Handmade goods have a background and the thoughts of the makers behind every tool.

From the intention that "what is obvious to the maker can be a fresh surprise to the user," not only were works displayed and sold, but also exhibitions of tools and processes, demonstrations of production and use, and workshops where people could experience craftsmanship were held.

Many of the workshops were designed for children to participate, and there were many parents and children experiencing the workshops together.

Additionally, when I spoke with the makers hosting the workshops, they mentioned, "We usually work quietly in our studios, so it is very refreshing to be able to move our hands in a comfortable outdoor setting with people showing interest in our handmade work."

It is a wonderful initiative that allows both makers and users to gain new insights.

Encounters with delicious food

On the first day, the weather was surprisingly warm for May, leading to long lines at restaurants for cold drinks such as shaved ice, iced coffee, and craft beer.

A resting area was set up under the wisteria trellis in front of Geibunkan Hall, allowing visitors to enjoy their meals while avoiding direct sunlight.

Blankets were brought by some people who enjoyed their meals at their own pace in their favorite spots and shared the works they purchased, creating a very friendly atmosphere.

Conclusion

I moved from the Kanto region to Kurashiki in December 2023.

For someone like me, who enjoys visiting exhibitions and select shops, moving to Kurashiki, far from the Kanto region often described as a "cultural center", brought with it a certain anxiety that I might be left behind in terms of the latest culture.

However, one of the artists I met at Field of Craft Kurashiki 2024 said, "If there is an event where creators and users can meet in Kurashiki, we will always come with our works," which eased my sense of urgency.

This event made me feel that I want to continue to "savor each piece of craftsmanship that comes to Kurashiki and is made in Kurashiki" as I go through my daily life.

I am already looking forward to meeting many crafts in Kurashiki again next year during the pleasant season of fresh greenery.