Being part of Setouchi Art Book Fair 2019 definitely gave 2019 a good closure because besides the art book fair, we got to enjoy the Setouchi Triennale and also the Setouchi Islands!

Held at the Takamatsu Castle ruins, we arrived in Takamatsu via a short flight from Haneda and was greeted with a huge storm that nearly made the airlines reroute to Okayama Airport. (Thank god we received clearance to land, imagine the luggages of zines and stuff we have with us!) Due to the rain and schedule, we didn’t manage to proceed with the booth set-up on the same day and decided to take an easy evening exploring Takamatsu City Center and getting our fix of the famous Sanuki Udon.

The art book fair venue was absolutely gorgeous! It is held in one of the large halls called Hiunkaku, Tamamo Park, Takamatsu Castle Ruins right next to Takamatsu Terminal. Well, a Japanese gardens venue also meant a challenging transportation of our luggage due to the castle grounds that are paved with garden slates and pebbles, maybe it is more ideal to pack your load into a huge backpack so don’t have to do some last minute Olympic-scaled weightlifting.

Setting up was easy with the environment-friendly cardboard protected tables. Space was good for 2 people to be at the booth at the same time.

THE CROWD

Taking into consideration that it is their very first Art Book Fair, we didn’t expect a big crowd like the regular art book fairs in the cities. Crowd was sparse on the opening day, but improved a little as we moved on to the 2nd and 3rd. The crowd was relatively local, with families and retirees coming by from time to time. (We would like to thank the team for actively promoting the fair to the crowds at the ferry terminal who were coming back from the islands in the evening!)

There were also many groups of travelers from all over Japan, and also from nearby countries of Taiwan, Hongkong, Korea and China that were here for the art triennale. We also had the opportunity to say hello to some Singaporeans that were here on vacation!

THE EXHIBITORS

It was a pretty good mix of creatives from illustrators to photographers, to graphic designers from Japan and all over the world like Noritake, Chalkboy, Akira Nishitake, Hamada Hideaki, Bananafish, Whosming, Yuni Hong, and also Fingersmith Letterpress and more…

HMM…

And because it is a heritage site, no food or drinks were allowed in the halls and that means you will probably have to take a break away from your booth at the nearest food joint at the terminal if you’re after some hot food. Also, no footwear allowed too.

COST

Here’s the math part of the event…

1 table (1,800×600mm) : 35,000 JP yen (incl. tax)
2 tables (3,600×600mm) : 70,000 JP yen (incl. tax)

One (1) wall space: 6,000 JP yen (incl. tax)
Use of nails is strictly prohibited. Use of double-sided tape is not allowed. Only masking tape or command tabs may be used. Please be noted that stands with wall space are limited.
One (1) chair: 1,500 JP yen (incl. tax)

WILL I BE BACK?

I am not sure if the organisers will be doing it annually (well 2020 will most likely be a year to stay-home) but I might do it again if I have new work to share, some extra pocket money to spare and if it coincides with the art triennale so I get to do both in one trip.

CREDITS

I happened to be in my early stages of pregnancy and wasn’t my best. I would like to thank my partner for doing this with me, Kelly and Siah and The Fingersmith Team, my friends from everywhere who came by!

USEFUL LINKS

https://setouchiartbookfair.com/en (English)

https://setouchiartbookfair.com/ (Japanese Only)

Ending this post with some photos of the trip to Shodoshima. the island of Olives!