What's Happening in Downsview, ON…

The fifth annual nation-wide Japanese Calligraphy Competition has issued a call for entries, and the deadline to enter is April 30th. The competition is sponsored by the Consulate-General of Japan, The Japan Foundation and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, within easy reach of Downsview.

Known as Shodo, Japanese calligraphy is considered to be one of the ancient Japanese visual arts requiring skillful artistic rendering. The roots of Japanese calligraphy date back to the sixth century, and consider the relationship between line, shape and space. The artist will often try to convey emotion into the shape of the lettering. Traditional tools for Shodo are a bamboo brush, an ink stone to grind an ink stick into liquid, ink, and paper, preferably made of bamboo, rice or wheat. However, many artists today use a calligraphy pen or a sable brush with pre-made liquid ink.

Printing companies have been providing poster printing services for reproductions of Shodo artwork for many years, providing realistic reproductions of the artwork that is usually completed on rice paper. All entries will be judged by an expert panel of Shodo masters in Japan, and the winners will be exhibited at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Don Mills, only seven km southeast of Downsview. An exhibition of the entries will run from November 10 – 24, with the gala awards presentation to be held on November 11th.

Entry Forms can be picked up at the centre or can be downloaded from www.shodocanada.com. The entry fee is $50 for students, and $90 for all others.Get a Free Quote for Forms