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World Amigurumi Exhibition

May 16 @ 4:41 pm

In this two and a half month long exhibition, Resobox Gallery will be turned into an “amigurumi room”, filled to the brim with cute crocheted and knitted creatures!

Beginning December 12, 2014, Resobox Gallery will be exhibiting 4,000 amigurumi contributed by over 140 artists from 32 different countries. Resobox Gallery wants to turn the space into an “amigurumi room”, filled to the brim with cuddly and cute handmade creatures. This is a unique exhibition in that it’s not highlighting an individual artist, but a concept. The concept, amigurumi, is a culture that began in Japan, but is now cherished by crocheters and knitters all over the world. Resobox Gallery was so inspired by the amount of amigurumi artists out there that they decided to embark on a journey to create an exhibition showcasing the united, global love of this cute craft.

PLUS, all of these wonderful handmade amigurumi will be for sale! Great for Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day gifts for all ages.

In The Press

Happening Now: The World Amigurumi Exhibition at RESOBOX in New York on the Lion Brand Yarn Blog
Thousands of Knitted and Crocheted ‘Amigurumi’ Fill LIC Gallery on DNAinfo
Handmade Toys Go On Display at Japanese Cultural Center on NY1 (Video)
“RESOBOX World Amigurumi Exhibition” in Issue 11 of Happily Hooked Magazine (Download PDF)
Channel your inner toy-enthusiast in LIC on Queens Chronicle
It’s an Amigurumi Fest! in Issue 12.3 of Crochet World’s Newsletter
世界中の人と人をつなぐ展示　「World Amigurumi Exhibition」 on Daily Sun New York (Japanese)
NYのギャラリーで「世界あみぐるみ展」（World Amigurumi Exhibition）開催中 on ニューヨークの遊び方 (Japanese)
Choicest Amigurumi in Issue 27 of Simply Crochet Magazine

RESOBOX in Mexico: Cool Japan World Trial in Mexico
RESOBOX was selected as one of 7 companies in “Cool Japan World Trial in Mexico” hosted by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan! We had a booth on 1/31 and 2/1 at Plaza Carso in Mexico City. On display at our booth were calligraphy pieces by Shoko Kazama, kimono art by MAYUKO Okada, komodaru (sake barrels) by Kishimoto Kichiji Shoten and some amigurumi from the World Amigurumi Exhibit!

Watch our promotional video: Mookie’s Adventure!

Go on a video tour of the World Amigurumi Exhibition!

**What Are Amigurumi?**

Courtesy Rachel Hoe from Little Yarn Friends

Amigurumi (lit. crocheted or knitted stuffed toy) is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features, as is typical in Japanese culture. (Wikipedia)

Amigurumi stems from animism, a philosophy in the foundations of many Japanese traditions and customs. Animism is the belief that gods belong to everything: water, food, nature, buildings and houses, even technology. In Japanese, this is called “Yaoyorozu no Kami”. In fact, Japanese people often put eyes, arms, and legs onto non-human objects and give them imaginary lives in order to feel closer to these objects and show them respect as co-existing partners in this world.

As a Japanese cultural center located in Queens, NY, one of the most diverse cultural areas in the world, Resobox Gallery wants to explore how the ideas of animism and amigurumi are perceived in other places internationally.

Join us at Vogue Knitting Live NYC in January!

RESOBOX will collaborate with Vogue Knitting Live and have a small pop-up World Amigurumi Exhibition booth at the show. Also, on January 18, 2015 from 11:15 am – 12:00 pm, Takashi Ikezawa, creator and owner of RESOBOX will provide a lecture about the company, including why and how the cultural center began its “World Amigurumi Exhibition” and Helen E. Moss, an advisor at RESOBOX and a crochet instructor in Queeens and Manhattan, will talk about amigurumi and show off some of the more intricately designed amigurumi from the “World Amigurumi Exhibition”.

Vogue Knitting Live NYC will take place at the New York Marriott Marquis, January 16-18, 2015. For more information please visit their official website.