International Design Festa is a huge art convention that happens twice a year in Japan.  The official website describes the event as “Design Festa is a celebration of the arts at which anyone regardless of age, nationality, talents or language can exhibit.  Serving as a platform for over 12,000 artists, designers, musicians, actors and more twice a year since its inception in 1994, Design Festa welcomes professionals and amateurs alike.”  It’s the largest art festival in all of Asia so if you happen to be around during Design Festa, it’s a must see!

It takes place at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba which is easily accessible from anywhere in Tokyo.  The event only costs 800 JPY for admission in advance and 1,000 JPY the day of.

The whole building is full of little tables of artists selling their work.  It takes hours to walk through and see everything.  It’s an endless maze of inspiration and creativity.  There’s everything from paintings, to jewelry and other unique crafted pieces for your home.  Often the artists are at their booths so it’s easy to talk to them about their work.  Below are some booths that really caught my attention.

Additionally, there are ongoing live events. Some artists do live painting and there is also an area for performances.  The girl in the image below painted this incredible mural while wearing a purple seifuku.

It’s the perfect place to shop for gifts for holidays.  There’s no better way to shop than by supporting independent artists.

If you’re not around during the Design Festa event, you can always stop by the Design Festa Gallery in Harajuku.

Design Festa Gallery: 3-20-18 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan

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Written by Carly Susman (www.carly-rose.com)
All photos property of Carly Susman
Follow for more @carlycarbonate