OPEN CALL:

Hosted by PULSE Contemporary Art Fair

December 3 - 7, 2008

Apply Online at www.geisai.us. Deadline for applications is October 15, 2008. 

Following critical acclaim and increased demand from artists and collectors alike, Kaikai Kiki is calling for entries for GEISAI Miami, the second U.S. edition of the art  fair conceived by Takashi Murakami. GEISAI is an art fair model that allows artists to represent themselves in a professional art fair setting and present their work directly to an audience of collectors, art professionals and art enthusiasts. Artists of all nationalities without gallery representation are invited to apply, with no restrictions on the medium, at www.geisai.us.

A jury of art professionals will review all applications and select a limited number of artists to receive free booths. Applicants must be able to present original artworks on-site in Miami during all five days of the fair. GEISAI Miami will be held Wednesday, December 3 through Sunday, December 7, 2008 and will, once again, be hosted by PULSE Contemporary Art Fair at Soho Studios in Miami’s Wynwood Art District (2136 NW 1st Ave).   

GEISAI’s debut in Miami last December featured artists from as far away as Latvia and Japan, including emerging stars such as the TM Sisters to street artists like Dolla and art world veterans such as Charles Clough. Success stories abounded, including that of Akira Ikezoe, whose booth sold out during the opening preview, Eric Doeringer, who nearly sold out the dozens of works in his booth, and Kristen Posehn, who placed both of the two works she exhibited with a noted dealer. 

Since its inception in 2001 in Japan, GEISAI has traditionally been held twice a year in Tokyo, and made its debut in Miami in December 2007. By allowing artists to exhibit their work directly, without a commercial gallery, to an audience of collectors, curators and art enthusiasts, GEISAI has established itself as an exceptional art fair platform.  The name “GEISAI” is derived from the Japanese word for “art festival.” Such festivals would typically take place within a university or an art school. 

 GEISAI #11, the most recent edition in Tokyo, featured an unprecedented program of live performances that celebrated both Japanese subculture and “superflat”, the flattening of high and low culture, as coined by Takashi Murakami. Visitors thronged to the fair’s main stage to watch performances including Taiwanese superstar Ken Chu and AKB48, of Tokyo’s Akihabara district, the hub of the otaku subculture. Upstairs, in the “School Festival Executive Committee”, a series of cafés, performances and exhibitions presented subcultures varying from maids to samurais, soldiers and Itasha cars meticulously decorated with characters from anime fandom. 

While GEISAI Miami is not as large as the Japanese flagship GEISAI fairs, it aims to bring this same energy and open market experience to the Miami art fair scene. 

GEISAI Miami will be followed by GEISAI #12 in March 8, 2009, in Tokyo.

About Kaikai Kiki:

 The artist-led art enterprise Kaikai Kiki was founded by Takashi Murakami in 2001, and evolved from its predecessor, the Hiropon Factory. Its goals as an enterprise include the production and promotion of artwork, the management and support of select artists, general management of events and projects, and the production and promotion of merchandise. With bases in Japan’s Motoazabu, Tokyo (head office); Iruma, Asaka, Miyoshi (studio); and in Long Island City, New York, Kaikai Kiki is a unique organization looking to the future to broaden the horizons and practices of contemporary art.

Further information on Kaikai Kiki   http://english.kaikaikiki.co.jp/