Enjoy the autumn of art! Here is a report from PARCO ART & CULTURE DAYS, a series of exciting events held at PARCO locations nationwide. ［VOL.1 Tokyo ］

PARCO ART & CULTURE DAYS" is being held to rave reviews at PARCO, which continues to be a "source" of fashion and culture. Each of the 15 PARCO stores across Japan is simultaneously holding its own events based on various cultural themes, including art, fashion, music, and markets. This time, we will report on events at Kichijoji PARCO and Chofu PARCO, a little further away from Shibuya, where our editorial office is located. Come out and enjoy the excitement of art and culture at Kichijoji PARCO until November 16 (Sun.). (Chofu PARCO is closed.)

Photo_Yuco Nakamura
Edit & Text_Akiko Maeda

DATE:10.26.Sun @PARCO KICHIJOJI

"Face to Face - Face to Face.
A series of high-profile events that will make you look at each other with emotion.

Kichijoji is famous for having a campus of a famous art university and for being home to manga artist Kazuo Umezu's "UMEZZ HOUSE" (a.k.a. Makoto-chan House). Kichijoji PARCO is currently holding "PARCO ART&CULTURE" as part of its 45th anniversary campaign "I'm in love with culture", an event involving not only the building but the entire town.

This year, the museum will be covered with new works by three creators, Masanao Hirayama (HIMAA), Kamama Yamakawa, and Sachie Imoto! As the theme "Face to Face" suggests, the various "faces" depicted by the artists, including facial expressions, shapes, and colors, will give different impressions to different viewers, and are sometimes abstract and sometimes humorous. They are sometimes abstract and sometimes humorous. It is as if the "faces" that decorate the entire city and our "faces" as viewers are looking at each other.

You have probably seen Masanao Hirayama's drawings filled with symbolic silliness somewhere before. Some are expressionless, some are full of smiles, some are crying...mysterious "faces" appear in the museum. The guerrilla live painting, which was held behind closed doors for a limited time, has also become a hot topic of conversation. Many fans who had heard the rumors looked on, and Mr. Hirayama finished the work right in front of them.

Graphic designer Kamama Yamakawa will not only participate in the main visual for Kichijoji PARCO, but also in Nagoya PARCO's whole building art jack project and art market at the same time. Sachie Imoto's minimalistic characters, which look like extraterrestrial life forms, will also decorate the building.

The event space on the 4th floor is filled with the works of the three artists. The original display fixtures made of stacked tangerine farmers' harvest baskets are also unique. The art space is a place where each viewer can imagine the works and talk about them face to face.

Also, "ART KIOSK" will appear on weekends only in the space in front of the main entrance on the first floor. In addition to "Kutsushita Tosake Bobo," a sock shop where you can drink socks, and "HOME PLANET," a local staple with 15 chefs who change their skills daily, "Omigoto Snack Omimusume," where you will be welcomed by Omiko, a mom in a flashy pink store, "NAKADA BAKERY," a bakery in Inokashira Park loved by locals, and four other shops with different personalities will offer food and drinks each weekend. NAKADA BAKERY, a bakery in Inokashira Park that is loved by local residents, and four unique stores that will offer food and drinks on different weekends. Craft beer cans printed with "Face to Face" visuals and art zines will also be available, so it should be fun to drop by.

Near the entrance on the first floor, there is an original gacha "ART GACHA "PARCO A&C SPECIAL" where you can get goods from three creators, as well as specially set up art-related gachas selected by "GACHA Coco" on the fourth floor.

At a wide variety of events held in various locations
The PARCO building and the entire city is on the boil.

The "Lawn Flea Market" held on Sunday, October 26, is a popular annual event, but due to the unfortunate rain, the event was held indoors. The "Lawn Flea Market" was held at the cafe and gallery "Kitimu/Lawn" not far from Kichijoji Parco, and more than 40 stores opened their doors for the "rainy" lawn flea market. Small stores and artists from the city gathered and spread out their lawns, as if they were opening their own shopping street. Despite the rain, the market was so crowded with customers that admission was limited, and the fourth annual event was again a great success.

The city of Kichijoji is dotted with vintage stores, art galleries, antiquarian bookstores, and other culture-inspiring spots that will keep you busy just wandering around. The entire city is energetic, with Kichijoji Parco as a base from which to explore the various spots.

At the vintage store "HIBIWA" (photo at left) in Saginomiya, Nakano-ku, you will find a selection of secondhand clothes, and at the "Eastern European goods store obchod" (photo at right) you will discover stuffed animals with indescribably cute, funky expressions.

DATE:10.28.Tue @PARCO CHOFU

With the theme of "Connecting with the City
Involving the local community to promote the appeal of art.

Chofu PARCO Art Festival 2025" was held in Chofu, where Shigeru Mizuki, honorary citizen of Chofu City and author of "Gegege no Kitaro," lived for over 50 years. Local residents, artists, and local businesses and organizations participated in a wide variety of programs.

At the main venue, the 1st floor event space, the research unit TMPR "Tempura" (Iwasawa brothers + Junro Horikawa + Ariru Mi⼭ + Nakata Kai), which "plays with the city" by moving back and forth between digital and physical, high-tech and manual work, and the perspectives of things and people, will hold the "Moving Point Observatory - Building a Ladder in Chofu " (Iwasawa Brothers + Junro Horikawa + Yu Mi⼭ + Nakada Kai), will hold "Moving Point Observatory - Ladder to Chofu". Upon taking a photo of a person's face and accepting the application, the AI will suggest a route around Chofu and a street walking diary based on the person's facial features and clothing. The event was crowded with people on holidays and served as a base for people to set out on their city walks with their smartphones in hand.

In addition to the display and sale of works by the Iwasawa brothers, members of TMPR, and Scratch (un)built, artists who remake dead stock glasses, vases, and household items found in old buildings, a group exhibition of paintings by members of the local welfare workshop "Shigotooba Ikui" was also held at the space, attracting "art lovers" of all ages and both genders. A group exhibition of paintings by members of a local welfare workshop, "Shigotoba Ikui," was also held at the same time, attracting "art lovers" of all ages and genders.

The original MAP was created based on information registered in the preliminary research "Tell us about the hidden charms of Chofu" workshop. From must-visit tourist spots to core small stores with full of individuality, the map is designed to give a complete picture of the city of Chofu.

Together with the works of Yoshi Marushin
Unravel the overflowing charm of the city of Chofu.

On the 2nd and 3rd floors, you can see "CHOFU RENZU," a mandala of words related to Chofu that spread in his mind, and on the 3rd and 4th floors, you can see "CHOFU PARCO TOILET INFORMATION AMIDA," a work full of love for Chofu that once started, it is hard to get out. On the 3rd and 4th floors, visitors can view "CHOFU PARCO TOILET INFORMATION AMIDA," a work that makes the Chofu PARCO building look like a giant Amida, which is hard to get out of once you start. Both of these large-scale, participatory works involving passersby captured the hearts of art lovers.

According to the artist, Yoshimaru Shin, "Chofu Jindaiji Temple is famous for Gensan-daishi, a temple that is used to ward off bad luck, and the main hall also enshrines a Kamakura-era statue of a crowned Amitabha Nyorai. For this exhibition, I thought of "turning the stairs of Chofu Parco into my own altar. But it is my own way," he says. The pattern of the staircase matches the pattern on the wall of the original landing, and it is completed as a single work of art, including the background. We were able to experience the "Chofu" that spreads in Mr. Yosshimaru Shin's mind.

Now that you have had a chance to experience a bit of the charm of the "PARCO ART & COLTURE DAYS," which has plenty of highlights and cannot be talked about enough, we hope that you have enjoyed the event. ［VOL.2 Sapporo version of ］, which sneaked into the event at Sapporo Parco, will be released in mid-November. Be sure to check it out as well.