O-furoshiki Project
| Dates | August 6 (Sun.) – October 1 (Sun.) |
|---|---|
| Hours | varies by venue |
| Venue | JR Tower concourse, other places in the city, SIAF2017 event venues as needed |
With the cooperation of: Sapporo Station General Development Co., Ltd., North Pacific Bank Ltd., AEON Hokkaido Corp., Sapporo Ekimae-dori Urban Development Co., Ltd.
The O-furoshiki Project, in which pieces of cloth are collected and sewn to make large patchwork furoshiki, symbolizes the civic participation art festival. Residents can participate in the project in various ways, such as offering cloth, machine-stitching the cloth and spreading the cloth. The large, colorful furoshiki created through such an open process will brighten up the view in a moment when they are spread out.
This O-furoshiki Project started from an outdoor festival held in Fukushima by Project Fukushima! in 2011, shortly after the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. Large furoshiki were made by sewing small and large pieces of cloth that are different in color, pattern and material (as if connecting people’s awareness that had been divided due to the nuclear accident), and they became a visual icon representing the project theme that questioned how people with different ideas and in different positions could coexist.
This project has since spread not only in Fukushima but all over Japan, and it also started in Sapporo when the Bon dance was held in the Kita 3-jo Plaza as a special program of SIAF 2014. In SIAF2017, large furoshiki are already being made at Odori O-furoshiki Factory in a room of a building in the city center with the participation of many people, from children to adults.
Starting from Fukushima after the earthquake, this O-furoshiki Project has continued while being updated. In SIAF2017, the scale of the event will be one of the largest. The sight of large patchwork furoshiki spread out and the people around it will symbolize the SIAF2017 spirit of “expressions created through collaboration between pros and amateurs.” During the festival, the large furoshiki will be displayed in various parts of the city, at the opening and closing ceremonies, the Marewrew Festival and many other events, setting the mood for SIAF2017.