International High School Arts Festival (5)

 IFAC Chairman Dr.Haruhsa Handa told the audience of the ceremony that the arts festival focuses on its openness to any high school students and the criteria of the awards are the 'untested potential' of youth.
 He hopes that Japanese high school students will have exchanges with high school students from around the world. In fact, every year IFAC organizes exchange entertainment programs. For example, the award-winner students both within and without Japan enjoyed a trip to Hakone, a lake resort near Tokyo.
  Also, as a founder of Misuzu Gakuen, a chain of cram school for high school students who intend to enter the university, Dr.Handa gave the students a significant advice, saying, "Listen to yourself instead of your parents or school counselors. They guide you to a safe path, which may not necessarily be the path you want to take. A goal is something you should set assuming you will change it sometimes. How can high school students know what they want for the future?.."

Award winners and judges pose at the awards ceremony

IFAC

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July 12, 2016)

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/12/national/students-around-world-showcase-art/

International High School Arts Festival (4)

 Other prizes included awards from ministers of the government of Japan, governors in Japan, National High School Calligraphy Association, Japan Association of High School Arts and Crafts Education, and Mainichi Newspapers. Those ministers and governors are the tops of the official organization which also co-sponsored the arts festival with IFAC, the International Foundation for Arts and Culture.

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July 12, 2016)

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/12/national/students-around-world-showcase-art/

  

International High School Arts Festival (3)

 The prizes are supposed to be given for excellent arts created not only by Japanese students, but also by students from around the world. They are from Ireland, Britain, Israel, Indonesia, Egypt, Cambodia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, China, Germany, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Russia and Benin.

 Among others, Alma Haas of Israeli Thelma Yellin High Chool won The Japan Times Award for her painting "Linens". It consists of a fabric triptych on different materials.

 She said, "I could never have imagined that I would have this chance to come to Japan and meet so many people from across the globe."

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July 12, 2016)

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/12/national/students-around-world-showcase-art/

  

International High School Arts Festival (2)

 The top award in this competition is Prime Minister Award.
 It went to Misaki Yamaguchi, a senior at Aichi Prefectural Gamagori High School, in the fine arts division. Chiho Kimijima, a senior at Omiya Koryo High school, Saitama Prefecture won the prize in the calligraphy division. 
 Yamaguchi said, "I'm truly grateful to have received such an amazing award. The fact that I have received this award after learning traditional Japanese painting in high school is truly an honor, and I hope to make use of what I learn from this experience for my future."
 Her painting is titled "Spring Awakening." It uses the image of a crowing rooster to depict the awakening of life in springtime. She uses the dazzling colors of spring flowers, and it created an effect by which the painting has a vibrant, energetic quality.
 Kimijima said, "I'm grateful to have received the prestigious Prime Minister Award this year. She wrote the script "Koshigire."She added that she enjoyed examining lots of classic scripts in calligraphy and savored the unique differences in each one."

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July 12, 2016)

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/12/national/students-around-world-showcase-art/

International High School Arts Festival (1)

 On July 3, the 17th International High School Arts Festival was held in Tokyo.

 This annual festival is one of the largest international art exhibitions for high school students. This year, students from Japan and 17 other countries entered 11,856 pieces, including fine art and calligraphy, 399 of which were exhibited at the National Art Center, Tokyo. 

 37 Japanese and one Israeli students received special awards at the awards ceremony in a ballroom of The Ritz Carlton.

International Foundation for Arts and Culture Chairman
Dr.Haruhisa Handa, center, poses with two Prime Minister Awards winners
at the 17th International High School Arts Festival
in Tokyo on July 3.

IFAC



(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July 12, 2016)

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/12/national/students-around-world-showcase-art/