The 53rd Japanese Today’s Art Exhibition in Spain Exhibition report/EXPOSICIÓN DE ARTE JAPONÉS EN COMILLAS｜EXPOSITIONS PRÉCÉDENTES / PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS

The 53rd Japanese Today’s Art Exhibition in Spain, which was held for the time since 2008, began on October 15 in the city of Comillas in Cantabria and lasted for 17 days. Five important cultural buildings located in the center of the city were chosen for this exhibition.

All of　which are well known by tourists and have played a role throughout history in displaying the city’s culture. All exhibited works were carefully selected by those in charge of venues. Works that exhibited the spirit of event were displayed, as well as an accurate representation of all artists, were displayed in the touristy city center, in the Old Town Hall of Comillas. In the majestic Sobrellano Palace, locals, tourists and students admired the large-scale works, as well as at the University Center CIESE - Comillas where more contemporary art pieces were shown.

At the Centro Cultural El Espolón, which was resurrected as a renovation project by the mayor of Comillas, María Teresa Noceda Llano, several works from the mini solo exhibition section and other works that conveyed the charm of contemporary Japanese art were fully on display.

One week before the event, the CAEA staff arrived from Japan and immediately paid a courtesy visit to the Comillas City Hall. While being welcomed by Mayor María Teresa Noceda Llano and coordinator of the exhibition VELARDE Pedro Castañeda, the team was able to express their deep gratitude on behalf of all the artists for the efforts made by city officials in order to make the exhibition possible despite the unstable situation regarding COVID-19. The news of the exhibition had already been released to local media companies inside and outside the city, as well as a report on the courtesy visit.
Furthermore, as soon as the exhibition started, it was reported by media such as newspapers, radio, as well as on the internet. Also, on Saturday, the following day at the opening ceremony, many local citizens and special guests invited by the city were in attendance. For the first time, 25 Japanese artists were also invited to the ceremony via internet. When the faces of the Japanese artists were projected on the stage monitor at 11 o'clock local time, the venue was filled with excitement and cheers. Following the opening declaration by Mr. VELARDE, who was charge of the exhibition, a video speech by MAGORI Bumpei, the representative of CAEA / JIAS, was aired on behalf of the exhibiting artists. When Mr. MAGORI expressed his gratitude towards Comillas city officials for their deep understanding of international artistic activities and expressed his joy and happiness of being able to exhibit, as well as introducing masterpieces made by Japanese artists in Cantabria’s historical buildings, a second round of applause echoed through the building. In response to this, Mayor María Teresa Noceda Llano gave a powerful greeting speech, and after that, when a promotional video from Japan that conveyed the spirit of the exhibition was aired, the visitors showed their excitement once more.

At the end of the ceremony, a special guest was introduced to the stage. The guest wore a Yukata given as a gift by the Japanese officials. It was a very glamorous garment that awed those in attendance. MAGORI Bumpei, who participated via the Internet, and MAGORI Mariko, Chairman of Obijias, once again thanked the visitors, citizens of Comillas, and all those who participated.

After the ceremony was over, the venue was filled with joy as people were taking in the various exhibits and talking enthusiastically. Mayor María Teresa Noceda Llano and Mr. Velarde went to each venue and talked with those in attendance. They were very impressed by the high quality of Japanese contemporary art.

During the exhibition, the judges: ACERO Angel, an art committee member of the Comillas City Council and an exhibition director of the city of Santander, AGUILAR Jose, a painter who is widely active in Spain, CRESPO Rafael, a painter and professor, and CUEVAS Faustino, of this exhibition, took a close look at the 309 exhibited works with Mr. VELARDE and deliberated. In addition, Mr. ACERO Angel gave a general review of the exhibition.

On the final day, the Sunday the 31st of October, the show, which brought joy to many citizens, ended. The next day, the number of visitors was reported to be equivalent to 10,000. Mr. VELARDE, the general commissioner of this exhibition, once again thanked the Japanese artists by saying how proud he was of this exhibition and the cross-cultural exchange it represents. To him it was one of the most beautiful in recent years.

Winners are posted on the Japanese page
Japanese page

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