VIRTUAL ART BOOK FAIR, a festival of art held virtually, is an arty and groundbreaking festival of expression itself.

Although the TOKYO ART BOOK FAIR (TABF) has been very lively every year, this year it will not be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo from the viewpoint of preventing the spread of the new type of coronavirus infection.

In response to the unprecedented situation, the members of the group gathered their wisdom and decided to hold a virtual art book fair (VABF) in a virtual space.

Various events will be held in a virtual space that imitates the building of the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. This article introduces some of them. The volume of the event is quite large, after all!

Prior to that, "TABF" held "Guest Country," a series of annual projects focusing on the publishing culture of one country or area each year. The fifth edition of this project will feature the Netherlands, a design powerhouse. In addition to Dutch publishers and artists exhibiting at "VABF," four exhibitions and talk shows will be held to unravel the Dutch art book scene.

Founded in 1926, the "Best Dutch Book Designs(BDBD)" is the longest-running Dutch book design award in Europe.

Photo by Shinji Otani

The Dutch Artists' Book: Then and Now" is a Dutch version of "Japanese Artists' Book Then and Now," which unravels the evolution of art books in Japan through the words of their creators, The Dutch version of "Japanese Artists' Book: Then and Now," which explains the evolution of art books in Japan through the words of their creators.

© Rafaël Rozendaal

The main venue for VABF is a building modeled after the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. The "outdoor" area is a park lined with "Shadow Objects," digital sculptures by Dutch artist Rafael Rosendahl, a pioneer in the field of Internet art. VABF will present a large-scale spatial installation that will become interactive as visitors move freely around the park in their browsers.

In addition, a crowdfunding project, VABF KIOSK, has now been launched with the aim of raising the necessary funds for this new challenge.

The TABF has continued to operate primarily on revenues from exhibitor and sponsor fees. For this year's VABF, the number of exhibitors has been reduced by about 100 groups and the exhibition fee has been lowered. In addition, the economic impact of the new coronavirus infection has caused a significant decrease in sponsorship income. On the other hand, expenses for web development, production, and personnel costs to hold a virtual book fair have been incurred, and expenses for running the fair have remained almost the same as in the past. The VABF KIOSK was launched to make up for the shortfall in funds.

Various limited items such as limited edition zines, tote bags, and posters by artists and designers associated with this year's guest country, the Netherlands, and "TABF" will be available as returns. The "VABF KIOSK" will continue until the end of the "VABF" exhibition period (November 16-23), and return items will be shipped in December.

The VABF will also host a variety of events. For more information, please contactthis way (direction close to the speaker or towards the speaker)Please visit us at All events are,YouTube channel of "TABFThe content will be distributed via After distribution, all content is archived and can be viewed at any time.

So, although it is impossible to introduce all of the contents, this is an introduction to a festival of art that has not been reduced in any way just because it is a virtual event.

The world is not in a cheerful mood, and it is not limited to art. However, it is precisely in times like these that I feel that the existence of art, which allows us to deepen our contemplation of various things, is once again in the spotlight. I also hear that the number of people buying art has increased.

We would like to start by inviting you to participate in this "VABF" and if you like what you see, we would be happy to ask you to crowdfund it as well. We hope you will try to get in touch with art in your own way.