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Twinkle, above,
76" x 76", by Yuko Saito, won first place in the original design category of the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2004.
Japanese Dance, right, 81" x 87", by Momoe Nitta, won third place in the Wa category last year. The word "wa" means "traditional Japanese style."
Photos courtesy NHK Educational Corp.
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From the time the show opens on January 27 until the doors close on February 2, nearly 290,000 visitors are expected to make their way past the hundreds of quilts on exhibit at the Tokyo Dome in the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2005.
During the seven days of the festival, visitors will be able to see a wide variety of exhibits, including one entitled Six Continents of Quilts with 50 quilts selected by New York's Museum of Arts and Design that features contemporary works from quilt artists in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.
Another exhibition showcases displays of patchwork with extensive bead embroidery by special guest artist Keiji Tagawa. And in another, quilts by 30 of Japan's leading quilt designers will be shown. American quilt historian Shelly Zegart explores the the traditional School House pattern with a display of 20 antique quilts made using that design.
Last year, for the third festival, visitors got to see more than 7,000 blocks made in response to a request for Sunbonnet Sue designs. This year the show's organizers have asked for quilters to submit personalized house blocks, and once again, they will all be on display. My Quilt World will feature eight quilts, each made by a quilt group that works with a noted Japanese quilt designer such as Keiko Goke, Kathy Nakajima, Yoko Saito, and Keiko Takahashi. Each designer selected the theme for the quilt.
And, of course, guests will see which items were selected for the competition categories: traditional quilts, quilts of original design, Wa or traditional Japanese-style quilts, group quilts, quilts made by juniors 15 or younger, and handbags, a particular favorite of the Japanese. The jurors included New York University associate professor Jacqueline Atkins, Musashino Art University professor Hiroshi Kashiwagi, and quilt artists Keiko Goke, Shizuko Kuroha, and Yoko Saito.
For more information about the show, contact the Secretariat of Japan Quilt Grand Prix for the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2005, c/o NHK Educational Corp., 4th Floor, The 6th Kyodo Bldg., 9-2 Kamiyama-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0047, Japan; phone +81-3-3481-1770; fax +81-3-3481-0094; quilt@nhk-ed.co.jp; www.tokyo-dome.co.jp.
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