Catalonia Craft Center - Barcelona, Spain 2014

Coordinated by Jackie & Partners

The KICC (Kyoto International Craft Center) and A-FAD (Fomento para las Artes Decorativas) are organizations in Kyoto and Barcelona respectively, whose mission is to promote the art, artists, designers, and craftsmen of their cities. Jackie & Partners coordinated an agreement between the two entities to establish mutual cooperation and conduct initiatives to promote and share their cultural heritage through decorative art. The joint initiative will include exchanges between artists living in Kyoto and Catalonia, exhibitions of collaborative work, and the marketing of arts and crafts in both Japan and Spain.

Present at the meeting that took place at the Catalonia Crafts Center was Sadato Kurotake (KICC President), Dr. Magda Polo Pujadas (A-FAD President), Mr. Miquel Rodriguez Urraca (General Manager of Commerce Craftsmanship & Fashion for Catalonia Province), Mr. Xavier Villas (Craft Center Director), Laia Pinsach (A-FAD), Jacqueline Okuma (J&P Managing Director), and Reshma Ramani (J&P Assistant Director).

A-FAD is the association of artists and artisans of the FAD, founded in 1973. They conduct research, diffusion and promotion of art by holding exhibitions, conferences, seminars, and workshops in Barcelona and Catalonia. They also organize the ENOJAT award and the ARTFAD Prize to name a few.

The KICC was founded in 1982 to honor the World Craft Council Assembly that took place in Kyoto in 1978 for the first time in Asia. KICC like the A-FAD promotes local artists and artisans by creating permanent galleries, promoting research, organizing seminars, and engaging in international exchanges. The KICC also created a series of tests on Japanese traditional culture and celebrations in order for people today to test how much they know about their own cultural heritage.