Through encounters, discussions and anecdotes, the nightlife venues invested by artists write an alternative history of art, by mixing communities and artistic scenes outside the scope of museums and galleries. From November 4 to 10, the ‘Sasori Bar’ revisits this history, with a tribute to a very confidential Tokyo hang out spot : ‘Kodoji’, Tokyo’s famous ’photographers bar’. Established in the Golden Gai of Shinjuku, a former prostitution district full of narrow streets and clubs, the tiny Kodoji bar was the meeting point for photographers from the legendary CAMP gallery in the 1970’s. Over the years, it’s become a landmark place for both photography and sake lovers. Photographers such as Daido Moriyama, Nobuyoshi Araki, Koji Onaka and many others have exhibited there.
Initiated by Emilie Lauriola, bookseller specialised in photography and founder of Sasori Books, the project will take the form of an ephemeral bar set up at 8, Rue Perronet from November 04 to 10 as part of the festival. Inspired by the history and spirit of Kodoji as a meeting place for the photographic community, the Sasori Bar will serve sake and display a collection of rare books on consultation.Book launches, talks and music are also on the program as well as an exhibition by Japanese photographer Satomi Nihongi. Taken in gay bars in Tokyo in the early 1970s, her little-known series of portraits of the dancers and clientele of these night venues will portray a different side of the neighborhood at this time.
Full program available soon online.
With support from Fondation Franco-Japonaise Sasakawa and Dassai.
Shmorévaz
Shmorévaz was born in 2021, in a vacant old shoe-store. Since then, it has turned into an informal creative platform that is activated through exhibitions, performances, conversations, reading or listening sessions. A flexible infrastructure, Shmorévaz morphs according to what inhabits it. Without favoring any specific format or medium, it focuses on projects by emerging artists and cultural workers. It also has an appetite for collective and critical practices, hybrid and often quirky proposals.