Osaka Art & Design collaborates with universities and vocational schools in the Kansai region to support the efforts of
students as next-generation leaders in the field of art and design to open up their possibilities. Come and see unhampered
artistic expressions created by new talent.
Initiative of the Crafts Department, Osaka University of Arts
Creation of works in the Glass Course, Crafts Department
What does it mean to express yourself? Osaka University of Arts has everything you need to take on the challenge of finding your answer to this question.
The Crafts Department has four courses specializing in metal, ceramics, textiles and dyeing, and glass, all of which collaborate to delve into the materials, perfect techniques, and expand new possibilities. The department provides a fulfilling environment for creation, which allows students to leverage their analogue sensibilities and digital communication skills, and develops talent who will shape the future of Japanese manufacturing through the production of works. These efforts of the department have resulted in many talented craft artists demonstrating their capabilities in many areas in such ways as being commended at or selected for open-call exhibitions both in Japan and abroad, presenting their works at art and craft fairs, and holding solo exhibitions.
For the upcoming exhibition, the Crafts Department of Osaka University of Arts is partnering with Kintetsu Department Store to hold its largest-ever art trade show, which will highlight the works that its alumni and current students created by integrating their unique perspectives with their skills.
title
The Power of Crafts 2025
dates
5/28 wed. – 6/2 mon.
hours
10:00-20:00 *Closes at 17:00 on the last day.
location
Kintetsu Department Store Main Store Abeno Harukas Wing Building 9F Event hall
This is an annual art trade show initiated in 2018, featuring works by alumni of the Crafts Department of Osaka University of Arts. This year, 50 artists from the fields of metal crafts, ceramics, textiles and dyeing, and glass will showcase their works. In addition, a booth will be set up to display and sell works by 14 faculty and staff members and 45 current students of the department, with a total of 109 craft artists demonstrating the appeal of craftworks and the power of manufacturing.
Initiative of the Faculty of Arts, Kyoto Arts and Crafts University
Pottery class in the North Building on the Kyoto Higashiyama Campus
Located in Kyoto, a city globally renowned for its culture of arts and crafts, Kyoto Arts and Crafts University was founded with the aim of realizing the ideal of developing talent who can create new value of traditional Japanese arts and crafts and share it with people around the world. On its Higashiyama Campus, about 1,000 students dedicate their days to acquiring a wide range of knowledge and skills related to architecture and art with a view to fulfilling their future dreams.
At Osaka Art & Design, works featuring high-quality design from among the exhibits at the graduation exhibition, where the students’ academic pursuit culminates, will be exhibited. Those works have been selected by Specially Appointed Professor Taro Yamamoto at the Faculty of Arts from his unique perspective, with the keywords of “tradition/modernity,” “crafts,” “lifestyles,” and “design.” The exhibition space itself will also be a refined version of graduation projects of students in the Interior and Space Design Course.
Graduation exhibition in the South Building on the Kyoto Higashiyama Campus
title
Taro Yamamoto x Kyoto University
of Art and Design
Re:Classic: Proposal for an old and
new lifestyle
dates
5/28 wed. – 6/24 tue.
hours
10:00-20:00
location
Osaka Takashimaya Department Store 6F Rose Patio
Taro Yamamoto, a specially appointed professor at Kyoto Arts and Crafts University and a Japanese painter, has selected works from the graduation exhibition held in February 2025 to be exhibited together with his own works. He has selected works featuring high-quality design with the keywords of “tradition/modernity,” “crafts,” “lifestyles,” and “design.” These works will be displayed in a booth that is a refined version of graduation projects of students in the Interior and Space Design Course.
Initiative of the Design Department, Osaka University of Arts
Designing an environment where art, people and the place are all connected together
Osaka University of Arts thoroughly upholds a spirit of freedom and cultivates individuals equipped with an international perspective, cross-disciplinary creativity, and practical rationality. Central to this is specialization for integration and the exploration of boundary areas. In order to learn the essence of design, namely ‘to enrich society’, the Design Department offers seven specialized courses in addition to cross-course ‘design project’ classes that implement industry-academia collaboration.
This time, in Visiting Professor Kunihiro Tsuji’s class, we collaborated with Karimoku Furniture Inc. and Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd. to design chairs that help the audience appreciate and connect with artworks.
title
Osaka University of Arts Design Department × Karimoku Furniture Inc.「chairs that help the audience appreciate and connect with artworks」
dates
5/28 wed. – 6/24 tue.
hours
9:00-20:00
location
NAMBA SkyO 10F Lobby / Parks Tower 2F Lobby
The Kunihiro Tsuji class of the Design Department at Osaka University of Arts, Karimoku Furniture Inc., and Nankai Electric Railway have collaborated to design chairs for appreciating artwork. This collaboration expresses the connection between art and design, redefines and redesigns public spaces as spatial environments, and explores cultural creation in urban areas.
