Ginza Graphic Gallery to hold 2024 JAGDA Kamekura Yusaku Award and New Face Award Exhibition from July 22

The DNP Foundation for Cultural Promotion will hold an exhibition commemorating the winners of the Kamekura Yusaku Award and the JAGDA New Designer Award, sponsored by the Japan Graphic Design Association (JAGDA)*, from July 22 (Mon) to August 24 (Sat), 2024, at the Ginza Graphic Gallery (ggg, Ginza, Tokyo).
* JAGDA website URL: https://www.jagda.or.jp

Design: Issay Kitagawa & Agata Yamaguchi

[About the 2024 JAGDA Yusaku Kamekura Award and New Face Award Special Exhibition]
Founded in 1978, JAGDA is the largest design organization in Asia, with approximately 3,000 members. It is engaged in a wide range of activities to improve the communication environment through design, including publishing the yearbook, "Graphic Design in Japan," hosting exhibitions and seminars, promoting design education, working on public design and regional development, and international exchange.
This year, ggg will host a commemorative exhibition for the Kamekura Yusaku Award and JAGDA New Designer Award, which are selected every year from works submitted to the yearbook, Graphic Design in Japan 2024.

On the first floor, visitors will be greeted by the "Messenger of the Eight Million Gods" from "KAMIZU" by "Kamekura Yusaku Award" winner Kitagawa Issei. In the basement, three JAGDA New Designer Award winners will present their own diverse worlds, adding color to midsummer Tokyo.

■Outline of the "2024 JAGDA Kamekura Yusaku Award/New Face Award Exhibition" ○Dates: Monday, July 22, 2024 to Saturday, August 24, 2024 11:00-19:00
Venue: Ginza Graphic Gallery (ggg) (DNP Ginza Building, 7-7-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
○Closed on Sundays and public holidays ○Admission fee: Free

■Related events <br /> Talk events featuring the winners and guests are scheduled to be held during the event.
*Please check the gallery and JAGDA websites for the latest information.

■About "Graphic Design in Japan 2024" to be held at the same time : Approximately 300 works featured in the yearbook "Graphic Design in Japan 2024" will be exhibited in physical form and on video at Tokyo Midtown Design Hub (Roppongi, Tokyo).
○ Period: July 1 (Mon) to August 25 (Sun), 2024 11:00-19:00 Open throughout the period ○ Venue: Tokyo Midtown Design Hub (5F Midtown Tower, 9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
○ Admission fee: Free ○ Website URL: https://www.designhub.jp/exhibitions/gdj2024

■ Featured books <br /> Yearbook: "Graphic Design in Japan 2024"
(Scheduled for publication in July 2024 / Rokuyosha / Estimated price: 16,500 yen)

[About the winners of the 2024 JAGDA Kamekura Yusaku Award and New Face Award]

■The 26th Kamekura Yusaku Award <br /> This award was established in 1999 to honor the achievements of Yusaku Kamekura (1915–97), who had a wide-ranging impact on the global design world, and to promote the further development of graphic design. Every year, the award is presented to the most outstanding work and its creator from among the works submitted to the yearbook, Graphic Design in Japan. Respecting Kamekura's last wishes to pursue the artistic quality and essence of graphic design, the award recognizes graphic design that possesses universality and innovation.

This time, the design was selected for "KAMIZU," an art project by Issei Kitagawa. "KAMIZU" is an art project that aims to widely communicate the spirituality, values, and ideas of Japanese culture through a variety of items and events featuring a variety of characters based on the motif of the eight million gods. Various developments have been carried out through collaborations with shrines and long-established stores, mainly in Kyoto, Kobe, and Tokyo. Kitagawa, who has had a major influence on younger designers since the 1990s with his unique designs, was highly praised for his unconventional direction and outstanding creative ability.

Kazunari Kitagawa Art Project Design "KAMIZU" Yaoyorozuya

■ Issei Kitagawa (Tokyo member)
Representative of GRAPH. Graduated from University of Tsukuba in 1987. Has worked on numerous branding projects, including visual design in a wide range of fields, as well as business and communication methods. His strong designs that can be used as management resources, and ideas that bring results such as achieving sales targets and improving corporate image, have earned him the support of many business managers. Recent achievements include Aiful, Hanamaruki Brewery Koji Laboratory, and Honke Nishio Yatsuhashi. Member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). Has won numerous awards, including the ADC Award, TDC Award, and JAGDA Newcomer Award. Has served as a judge for the NY ADC Award, D&AD Award, and other awards both in Japan and abroad. Has appeared on TV shows such as NHK's "New Business Legends: The Luzon Pot" and TV Tokyo's "Cambrian Palace."
○GRAPH website URL: https://www.moshi-moshi.jp/

■JAGDA New Face Award 2024
Every year, from among the exhibitors at "Graphic Design in Japan," the JAGDA New Designer Award is given to a promising graphic designer (under the age of 39) who is expected to be active in the future. Since 1983, this award has been a stepping stone to success for designers, and has attracted attention from people in the design and advertising industries, having produced 125 designers who are currently active at the forefront of design.
This time, after a rigorous selection process from among 139 candidates for the Newcomer Award, three individuals were selected: Mariko Okazaki, Shunta Sakamoto, and Takata Yamaguchi.

Mariko Okazaki (Tokyo Member)
Born in Tokyo in 1984. After graduating from Keio University, he studied graphic design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, Netherlands. After gaining work experience, he went freelance in 2018. In 2022, he founded REFLECTA, Inc. He is deeply committed to the cultural field, including contemporary art, and explores editorial/structural design based on observation and conceptual thinking.
REFLECTA, Inc. website URL: https://reflecta.jp/

Mariko Okazaki, Comprehensive Design of the Art Festival "Yokohama Triennale" Yokohama Triennale Executive Committee

Mariko Okazaki Comprehensive design of art event "EASTEAST_TOKYO 2023" East East

■ Shunta Sakamoto (Tokyo member)
Born in 1993 in Osaka Prefecture. Graduated from Musashino Art University's Department of Fundamental Design in 2017. Joined Hakuhodo in the same year. Currently affiliated with hakuhodo DXD. Since 2020, he has been running the creators club "NEW". Winner of the JAGDA Award (Digital Media) in 2023.

Shunta Sakamoto Poster for paper product specialty store "SUPER PAPER MARKET" Fukunaga Paper Co., Ltd.

Shunta Sakamoto, Graphic creation application "Encephalography" Hakuhodo

■Yamaguchi Agata (Tokyo member)
Born in Tokyo in 1988. Raised in Fukuoka Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Design at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2016. After working at 10, he founded collé in 2021.
○Colle website URL: https://www.colle.co.jp/