[Production: September ~ Art Exhibition: Saturday, November 30, 2024 ~ Sunday, February 2, 2025]
Sunshine City Co., Ltd., Hareza Ikebukuro Area Management General Incorporated Association, and Hibiya Amenis Co., Ltd., as the "Toshima Knitting and Connecting City Art Project Team," will launch the "Toshima Knitting and Connecting City Art 2024" project in September 2024 to create new art and culture in Ikebukuro together with people who have an attachment to Toshima Ward through "yarnbombing," a knitted art project that decorates parks and commercial facilities in the Ikebukuro area with knitted items.
This event, in which participants knit colorful "motifs" through workshops and then connect the collected motifs to decorate trees in parks and other places, has been well received and is now in its fourth year.
Following on from last year, under the supervision of knitter 203gow, the town of Ikebukuro will be decorated with the theme of "Knitted Owl Forest," inspired by owls, which are associated with Toshima Ward.
This event will involve workshops with local residents, where motifs will be created in September and October, and the collected motifs will be pieced together in November to create "knitted art," which will be exhibited in parks and other locations in Toshima Ward from the end of November. After the exhibition period, the items will be remade into rugs, throws, etc. and donated to parks and other locations, and some will be sold with the proceeds donated to elderly care facilities and other locations in Toshima Ward.
What is "Yarnbombing"?
Knit art transforms everyday scenery by decorating buildings and parks in the city with knitted items.
Trees at Ikesan Park decorated with motifs
The Ikebukuro owl at JR Ikebukuro Station is decorated with motifs
Knitter 203gow
Knitter 203gow
She continues to create unusual knitted works, "Henamimono." To her, everything in the world seems knitted. She presides over the "Amitsukisatsudan," a group that fills the streets with knitted items. She also works on display window decorations for department stores and street shops, background decorations for magazines, three-dimensional sculptures and spatial decoration exhibitions at museums and art galleries, serializations in quarterly magazines, knitting instruction, and knitting meetings for local and multi-generational exchanges.
Event Outline
Event name: Toshima Knitting and Connecting Town Art 2024
Period: September 2024 to Sunday, February 2, 2025
Exhibition locations: Ike-Sun Park (Toshima Green Disaster Prevention Park) / Sunshine City 60 Observatory Tenbo Park / JR Ikebukuro Station Ikefukuro / Jiyugakuen Myonichikan / Nakaikebukuro Park / WACCA IKEBUKURO
Organizers: Toshima Ami-de Tsunagu Town Art Project Team (Sunshine City / Hareza Ikebukuro Area Management [Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd., Sankei Building Co., Ltd.] / Hibiya Amenis Co., Ltd.)
Cooperation (in alphabetical order): Ikebukuro Community College / Olympus Seishi Co., Ltd. / Clover Co., Ltd. / Jiyugakuen Myonichikan / Diamond Yarn Co., Ltd. / DMC / Naito Shoji Co., Ltd. / Nihon Vogue Co., Ltd. / Puppy / Hamanaka Co., Ltd. / East Japan Railway Company JR Ikebukuro Station / Bunka Fashion College Knit Design Department / Motohiro Co., Ltd. / Yuzawaya Shoji Co., Ltd. / WACCA IKEBUKURO
Sponsor: Toshima Ward
Overall Supervision: Knitter 203gow (Nimaru Sango)
Workshop instructors: Akiko Arima (FrogStudio Handicraft Club), Hiroko Kondo (Atelier Sumire), Rie Nomura (Loop), Mina Yokota and Miwa Yamaguchi (minamiwa)
WEB page: https://note.com/ssc_sustainable/n/n93e207e4e7ae
"Toshima Knitting and Connecting Town Art" Workshop
Under the guidance of an instructor, three workshops will be held in various locations within Toshima Ward, each with a different theme: creating a 20cm square motif, connecting the collected motifs together, and decorating trees in parks and features in public facilities.
Through workshops, participants will deepen their connections with the local community, and the motifs they have individually knitted will add color to the town of Ikebukuro.
Image of the joint work (from a previous event)
Image of the motif (from previous events)
Workshop Overview
Tokyo Tatemono Brillia HALL Park Plaza Venue
Date and time: 9/17 (Tue), 24 (Tue), 10/1 (Tue), 15 (Tue), 11/26 (Tue) 11:00-13:00/14:00-16:00 each day
Capacity: 20 people per session
Location: Tokyo Tatemono Brillia HALL Park Plaza
Content: Workshop on crocheting square motifs
Instructors: Mina Yokota and Miwa Yamaguchi (minamiwa), Minamiwa Knit Cafe instructors
Cooperation: Yuzawaya Shoji Co., Ltd.
How to participate: Registration on the day
Participation fee: Free
EAT GOOD PLACE Venue
Date and time: 10/15 (Tue) and 25 (Fri) 14:00-16:00, 11/15 (Fri) 13:00-16:00
Capacity: 15 people per session
Location: EAT GOOD PLACE in Ike-Sun Park
Content: Workshop on crocheting square motifs
Instructors: Knitters 203gow, Akiko Arima (Frog Studio Handicraft Club), Rie Nomura (Loop)
How to participate: We will announce how to reserve on the event website closer to the event.
Participation fee: 1 drink
Ike-Sun Park Venue (Hand-Knitting Day Workshop)
Date and time: 11/3 (Sunday/Holiday) 11:00-13:00/14:00-16:00
Capacity: 20 people per session
Location: Ike Sun Park
Content: Workshop to knit motifs using handicraft items
Instructors: Mina Yokota and Miwa Yamaguchi (minamiwa), Minamiwa Knit Cafe instructors
How to participate: We will announce how to reserve on the event website closer to the event.
Participation fee: Free
Hand-knitted Day
Six yarn manufacturers jointly proposed the establishment of November 3rd as "Hand-Knitting Day" in 2018, as a day when "people who can knit can teach at least one other person how to enjoy knitting."
Reference: https://clover.co.jp/event/113_2
★Other workshops are also planned to be held in various locations.
For the latest information on each workshop , please see here (https://note.com/ssc_sustainable/n/n93e207e4e7ae).
Motif recruitment
Based on the concept of "Knitted Owl Forest," knitter 203gow has designed a knitting pattern (knitting blueprint) which will be published on the event's website, and we are calling for motifs.
Application period: October 1st (Tuesday) to October 31st (Thursday)
Reception hours: 8:00-16:30
Place to submit: Ike-Sun Park Management Office *We do not accept submissions by mail. Please bring the application in person.
Knitting art exhibition
The collected motifs are stitched together to create knitted art that will add color to the town of Ikebukuro.
Period: November 30, 2024 (Saturday) to February 2, 2025 (Sunday)
Location: Ike-Sun Park (Toshima Midori Disaster Prevention Park) / Sunshine 60 Observatory Tenbo Park / JR Ikebukuro Station Ikefukuro / Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan / Naka-Ikebukuro Park / WACCA IKEBUKURO
Last year, over 5,000 motifs knitted by a total of about 700 people were exhibited at eight locations in the Ikebukuro area. After the exhibition ended, some of the knitted motifs were remade into rugs, throws, etc. and donated to parks and facilities in Toshima Ward, where they were used by many people.
The knitted art that decorated the streets and parks of Ikebukuro has been transformed into rugs and throws, and will be returned to the parks once again.
＜Toshima Knitting and Connecting Town Art 2023 [Final Edition]＞
https://co.sunshinecity.co.jp/press-room/news-release/2024-03-28.html/
*The content and schedule may be changed or canceled depending on the situation.
*Image is for illustrative purposes only.
[Sunshine City Co., Ltd.] Press release
<Past related articles>
A total of about 700 people participated in the workshop! An exhibition on the theme of "Knitting Owl Forest" will start at eight locations in the Ikebukuro area <Toshima Knitting Connecting Town Art 2023>
