The Japan Design Committee is pleased to present “IFDA: Asahikawa, Creation Central for Wooden Furniture” as the 778th Design Gallery 1953 exhibition.
In 1990, when IFDA (International Furniture Design Fair Asahikawa) started, the Asahikawa area’s furniture industry was a production center for for wedding chests, with many manufacturers concentrating on boxed products. In the future, the furniture industry in the Asahikawa area was expected to decrease due to changes in lifestyles, etc. Therefore, it was necessary to improve design skills and accumulate technical capabilities to materialize designs in order to develop high-quality products for the Asahikawa area. The design competition was realized due to the booming domestic economy and the 100th anniversary of Asahikawa’s foundation.
The competition has been held every three years since 1990, and over the past 30 years, it has gathered the wisdom of the world and promoted close international exchange. The design competition, which started with the aim of proposing and disseminating a new lifestyle culture from Asahikawa, Hokkaido, will be held for the 11th time by 2021, with a total of 9,433 entries from 77 countries and regions, and more than 50 of them have been commercialized.
Through the IFDA, Asahikawa has promoted technological innovation in wooden furniture, while at the same time fostering design awareness, international perspectives, and a wide range of human networks in the Asahikawa region. Asahikawa has also been recognized by UNESCO as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of design in 2019, in recognition of its long-term efforts in design competitions.
Asahikawa is the third city in Japan, following Nagoya and Kobe, to become one of the 43 UNESCO Cities of Design in the world. This exhibition introduces IFDA as one of Japan’s leading furniture production centers, which has been involved in the project 11 times over the past 30 years, and tells the story of IFDA’s achievements as a “source of design” for Asahikawa Furniture.
Message from Naoto Fukasawa, Exhibition Manager
The International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa (IFDA) has been held every three years for 30 years since 1990. It has gathered the wisdom of the world and promoted close international exchange. The Kamikawa area, including Asahikawa, is surrounded by rich forests and is a favorable environment for the woodworking industry. This exhibition will show how Asahikawa has become a creation central for woodworking.
Exhibition Outline
- The 778th Design Gallery 1953 Exhibition “IFDA: Asahikawa, Creation Central for Wooden Furniture”
- Period: April 20, 2022 (Wed) – June 13, 2022 (Mon), 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., last day closing at 5:00 p.m., free admission
- Venue: Matsuya Ginza 7th floor, Design Gallery 1953
- Organizer: Japan Design Committee
- Support: International Furniture Design Fair Asahikawa Organizing Committee
- Cooperation: Asahikawa Furniture Industry Cooperative
- Exhibition Manager: Naoto Fukasawa
• Please refer to the Matsuya Ginza website for the opening hours and other information.
Related Book Sales
IFDA Design Competition Winning Works Collection will be on sale at the Design Collection on the 7th floor.
Talk Event
A talk event will be held to commemorate this exhibition.
- Date: Friday, April 22, 18:00 — 19:00
- Place: Matsuya Ginza 7th floor, Special Room (“特別室” | Please refer to the 7th floor floor guide)
- Performers: Naoto Fukasawa, Motomi Kawakami
- Capacity: 20 people on a first-come, first-served basis
Registration is now closed.
All participants are required to be seated after taking the necessary distanciation.
Admission is free, but please bring the reception image that will be sent back to you from the committee office.
If we cannot confirm your name, you may be denied entry.
You can print out the image or show it on your smart phone.
We will confirm your name at the reception desk on the day of the event.
After the event, there will be a speech by the staff involved.
If time permits, please remain there after the talk event.
