The Yokohama Paratriennale 2014, an international exhibition of contemporary art by people with disabilities and professionals from a variety of fields, will open on August 1st in the Yokohama waterfront area in central Yokohama.

The theme for this inaugural event is "First Contact—A Place for First Encounters." While promoting expressions that can only be born through repeated experimentation and challenge over time, the event aims to accumulate know-how for "accompanists" who support the creative endeavors of people with disabilities, discover and develop talent, and organize a festival that is open to everyone, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, by providing venue guidance and public relations activities. A shuttle bus will run between the exhibition and the Yokohama Triennale, which is being held at the same time.

One notable project is a project by Akira Minagawa, designer of mina perhonen, in which people from a local disability activity home embroider the brand's fabrics and transform them into artistic products. Rhizomatiks' Daito Manabe, Motoi Ishibashi, Masaki Teruoka, and Shuichi Tsutsumi will collaborate with the hearing-impaired dance group SOUL FAMILY to present a work that uses haptic devices to cross-pollinate different senses.
Other participating artists include dancer Kiyo Chrissy, who performed in the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games; Mikhail Karikis, who participated in the 2011 Venice Biennale and the 2013 Aichi Triennale; and Dialogue in the Dark, a dark entertainment show that has been held in 30 countries around the world.
[Event Information]
Yokohama Paratriennale 2014
Venue: Elephant's Nose Terrace and other locations
Address: 1-chome, Kaigan-dori, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Dates: August 1st to November 3rd (core period until September 7th)