Documentation of AMABIKI 2008

4/1/2007
Sakura viewing party *Meeting to consider the next exhibition with participants of AMABIKI 2006 together.

4/29/2007
First Preparatory Meeting
*Deliberate over an the offer from "The Sakuragawa City Executive Committee for the 23rd National Cultural Festival (NCF)". *Adopt "Amabiki Village and Sculpture 2008" as the official event Japanese title of the exhibition name, and with "AMABIKI 2008" as the English title.

5/27/2007
Second Preparatory Meeting
*Report from the members in charge of the NCF Project Meeting. *Deliberate our proposed precondition to participate in NCF over supporting data, after the meeting.

6/4/2007
First General Meeting
*Confirmation of the intention to participate in the exhibition in 2008. *Deliberate over the budget. *Determine the suitability of the new artists. *Report from the members in charge of the NCF Project Meeting.

8/5/2007
Second General Meeting
*Report from the members in charge of the NCF Project Meeting. *Confirm participating artists, nominate new artists. *Inspection visit by all participants around candidate area to set up.

9/9/2007
Third General Meeting
*Adopt installation area after discussion. *Determine the AMABIKI 2008 Executive Committee chairperson. *Introduce new artists to all participants.

10/4/2007
Fourth General Meeting
*Deliberate over the proposed installation area, and the proceedings thereafter. *Determine designer. *Deliberate over officers and managers for various tasks. *Report from NCF Project Meeting.

11/18/2007
Fifth General Meeting
*Explain how to determine installation locations for all artists and required documentation. *Determine officers and managers for all tasks. *Proposal for contents of the website.

12/16/2007
Sixth General Meeting
*Explain lead up to determining installation locations. *Install representative for "The Society of Compulsory Educators for Study of Fine Art in the Region (SCES FAR)" as per the request from Culture Department of Sakuragawa City. *Reports from the various Managers on small works exhibition, reception, volunteers and accounting.

1/27/2008
Seventh General Meeting
*Report outcome of the negotiations for determining installation locations. *Explain and deliberate over the budget. *Reports and explanation from the relevant managers on Municipal Publication, small works exhibition, telephone communication network, SCESFAR, etc.

2/24/2008
Eighth General Meeting
*Confirming acceptance (permission, agreement) of installation location. *Report budget, accounting, ante (subscription, due) etc. *Deliberate over the printing schedule, photo shooting, print shop, etc. *Reports and explanation from each manager, Bus tours, and Municipal Publication etc.

3/30/2008
Ninth General Meeting
*Presentation and deliberation of the exhibition course plan. *Determine the schedule for the bus tours. *Deliberate details of the small works exhibition at the Gallery SEIHO. *Report from the NCF Project Meeting. *Cherry blossom viewing party after the meeting (at the old Amabiki Station).

4/20/2008
Tenth General Meeting
*Introduce the officer in charge of NCF from the Lifelong Learning Department. *Inspection visit by all participants with the aim of examining installation points and assessing the need for venue signage /warning signs. *Report on the appearing schedule in the city news magazine.

5/18/2008
Eleventh General Meeting
*Proposal and explanation for posters and fliers, and discussion. *Explanation of exhibition course and bicycle course. *Report recent situation actual state of Art Culture Group. SCESFAR. *Proposal for the event by volunteer staff of (at Yamato nade shiko-an). *Reports and explanation from each manager, Press, Sign planning, Bus tours, Social events, Reception, Accounting, Publication etc.

6/15/2008
Twelfth General Meeting
*Determine poster design and confirm the contents. *Report estimation of print and confirm the deadline of manuscript submission. *Reports and explanation from each manager, SCESFAR, Opening ceremony, Venue management, Reception, "Yamato nade shiko-an" and others.

7/27/2008
Thirteenth General Meeting
*Report changinges of some installation locations. *Reports from The Sakuragawa City Executive Committee for the 23rd NCF. *Checking and correcting manuscripts for posters and fliers. *Work to sending out direct mails. *Report of delivery and installation of small work Planning Exhibition. *Reports and explanation from Managers of Signage plans, Publicity, Sculpture delivery and removal, Social events, Comments etc.

8/18-23/2008
Satellite small work exhibition plan "INVITATION for AMABIKI 2008" / Planning Exhibition. (Gallery SEIHO, Ginza, Tokyo)

8/31/2008
Fourteenth General Meeting
*Work to prepare sending out printed material (posters, fliers, direct mails etc). *Manufacture notice boards and signage etc. *Confirmation of the deadline of artist's comments and captions. *Reports and explanation from Managers of Insurance, Opening ceremony, Reception, Publicity, Delivery and installation of works, Press, Rental bicycles and other issues.

9/14/2008
Starting operation at the venue, start delivery and installation of works.

9/23/2008
Installation of all works using large cranes (25t, 8t)

9/28/2008
Staging the AMABIKI 2008
*Opening ceremony 11:00 (Yamato Community Center CITRUS). *Tea party 11:30.

10/5-11/30/2008
Rest house "Yamato nade shiko-an" staffed by volunteers (Hananoiri Park), every Sunday during the period excluding October 26.
SOBA demonstration and sale by the Handmade Buckwheat noodle Appreciation Society- a voluntary group named, "Teuchi-Soba-Daisuki-kai" (Higashi-iida Village Center) every Sunday during the period; also October 13, and Holiday November 3, excluding November 26.

10/12/2008
First bus tour 10:40-16:00, two buses.

11/1-9/2008
The 23rd National Cultural Festival Ibaraki 2008

11/9/2008
Second bus tour 10:00-16:00, two buses.

11/30/2008
Closing of the AMABIKI 2008

12/1-14/2008
Clear venues
*Start removing all the carrying out works using large cranes (25t, 8t). *Start editing the photographic record.

12/21/2008
Fifteenth General Meeting
*Preparing to send the photographic record, sending the photographic record.

Membership of the Executive Committee for AMABIKI 2008

We held the AMABIKI 2008 with a section of the National Cultural Festival Ibaraki 2008 Executive Committee in the Lifelong Learning Department of Sakuragawa City.
In early 2007, we received an offer to hold the AMABIKI Exhibition as one of the participating events of the National Cultural Festival Ibaraki 2008 from the Lifelong Learning Department of Sakuragawa City.
In April the same year, we started discussions about the offer from the City with the all AMABIKI 2006 members gathered together. After two long discussions we decided to request a precondition to accept the City's offer. If they agreed to host Amabiki without compromising our unique style that we strived to maintain over the course of the previous 6 exhibitions then we could take part in the National Cultural Festival.
Fortunately, the City agreed to our proposal so we accepted the offer that the AMABIKI Exhibition temporarily became one of the participating events of the NCF-Ibaraki 2008.
In June, 42 artists organized the independent "AMABIKI 2008 Executive Committee" as in the previous exhibitions. We carried out our planning / operation of the AMABIKI 2008 the same as usual. We also had general meetings once every month for 16 months until the exhibition opened on the 28th September 2008. The exhibition ran for two months in total with one week running in association with the NCF-Ibaraki event, the exhibition closed on the 30th November 2008.
Executive committee 42 participating artists

Executive committee managers:

AMABIKI 2008 took place through the below division of labor.
Executive Committee chairman / Secretariat / Accounting / Moderator / Secretary / PR / Subsidies / Press / Website / Poster and flier records / Venues / Sculpture delivery and removal / Sign planning and installation / Captions / Information center management / Comments / Opening / Reception / Bus tours / Volunteers / Venue management (security) / Social events / Sketch exhibition / Photographic record / Information management / Municipal reports / Liaisons of "23rd National Cultural Festival - Ibaraki 2008" / Liaison of The Society of compulsory educators for study of Fine Art in the region