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Kintsugi Workshops: Perfection in Imperfection

The Traditional Japanese Art of Mending Broken Pottery

August 15, 22 & 29, 2020

The Japan Foundation, Sydney is pleased to announce new dates for the Kintsugi workshops that were postponed earlier this year due to COVID-19. Please note that the contents of each workshop is subject to the availability of materials and may differ from the original workshop series.

Learn how to do Kintsugi from Art Kintsugi Sydney at The Japan Foundation, Sydney in a hands-on three-hour beginners’ workshop. Here, you’ll learn the foundational techniques of Kintsugi using modern materials that are easy to source so anyone can apply the technique in their daily life. When you’re done, bring home your very own Kintsugi object and fall in love with its imperfections.

This event series is in conjunction with the Seikatsu Kogei: Objects for Intentional Living exhibition on display from February 21 – August 29, 2020.

COVID-19 Policy

All workshops will have a maximum of 10 participants, and all attendees will be provided with disposable face masks and hand sanitiser. All surface areas will be sanitised prior to each workshop. Social distancing will be maintained within the premises and all visitors must check-in upon arrival and complete a temperature check before entering the workshop. As per government guidelines, if your temperature is 37.5C or above, we will need to ask you to leave and not participate in the workshop. For the safety of yourself and others, please stay home if you’re feeling unwell.

Please note that in the event that the workshops are cancelled due to changing COVID-19 restrictions, a full refund will be made to all paid participants. 

WORKSHOPS

August 15 – Mino Ware
Learn about the wide variety of pottery that is all-encompassing of Mino ware, which is the name given to ceramics produced in the Tono area of Gifu Prefecture. In the 16th century, many famous pieces of tea ceremony wares were made in Mino, from tea bowls to flower vases and tea containers.  Now Mino ware makes up 50% of the Japanese ceramics market, with many ceramicists producing traditional wares along with more contemporary wares.

August 22 – Arita Ware
Enjoy porcelain ware from Arita, Saga Prefecture. Arita is most famously known for fine porcelain that is exported domestically, as well as to China and Europe. Traditional Arita ware can be distinguished by intricate designs with blue pigment that have a Chinese influence.

August 29 – Australian Ceramics 

In this workshop, you’ll be using beautiful handmade ceramics made by Sydney-based ceramic studio Batch#.  Through careful consideration of clay sourcing, glazing ingredients and firing temperatures, Batch# ceramics are individual and unique while retaining their beauty through function.

ABOUT KINTSUGI

Dating back to 16th century Japan, Kintsugi is the art of joining broken objects, most commonly bowls and cups with lacquer, putty and glue and finishing with gold powder. Kintsugi is built on the idea of embracing flaws and imperfections, giving new life and beauty to objects that are traditionally considered broken and unusable. The timelessness of restoring objects to a state of continued usability relates deeply to the Seikatsu Kogei movement of intentional living.

These workshops are for ages 16 and up. Pregnant individuals are advised not to attend.

Art Kintsugi Sydney was established in 2018 by Japanese designer Yoko Kawada and visual artist Chizuru Kimiyama. They run creative art and craft workshops locally and interstate as well as engaging with each other’s art discipline for exhibitions and private commissions.

Yoko Kawada will be running the Perfection in Imperfection Kintsugi workshops.

Yoko Kawada studied interior design in London in 1990 before starting her Inner West Sydney art studio (eponymously named Yoko Kawada), where she designs and crafts homeware products by hand using Japanese artisan tiles and Kintsugi techniques. 

Yoko’s works combine elements of handcraft and material technology, an approach reflecting her cross-cultural background, which she describes as a “Unity of Opposites” – wabi-sabi aesthetic, boldness and elegance, tradition and innovation, straight lines and curves, and square and round.

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RELATED EVENTS

EVENT DETAILS

August 15, 2020 (Saturday)
10am-1pm

Sold Out

August 22, 2020 (Saturday)
10am-1pm

Sold Out

August 29, 2020 (Saturday)
10am-1pm

Sold Out

Bookings for all workshops open
July 21 (Tuesday) at 10am

ADMISSION
$80 + booking fee
Includes Kintsugi materials and ceramic item to repair and take home.

Bookings open July 21 (Tuesday) at 10am

VENUE
The Japan Foundation, Sydney
Level 4, Central Park
28 Broadway, Chippendale NSW 2008

ENQUIRIES / CANCELLATIONS

(02) 8239 0055

Cancellations are accepted and full refunds will be offered up to 7 days prior to the workshop. After this time, refunds will only be offered if you cannot attend due to illness, not  change of mind. Please note that once each event has started (10am), no refunds will be given for any reason.

Header image: Courtesy of Yoko Kawada

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