Getting Involved

This Summit is a labour of love - a "thank you", if you will, to the papermakers who make washi and the artists who appreciate it. While The Japanese Paper Place staff are putting their time, energy and resources into this event, make no mistake: this is motivated by their own passion for the paper. There is no ‘retail strategy’ here, no marketing objective, and most of all — no bottomless pit of funding.

The main beneficiaries of this event will be the worldwide art community and the papermakers of Japan. If the Summit objectives are met, Japanese papermakers will be encouraged by what they’ve seen here and have a renewed enthusiasm to continue the ancient craft of their ancestors. And all attendees will have witnessed how a 1400-year old green idea can be even more relevant today.

An appeal to a large corporation seemed likely to bear fruit, but they backed out at the eleventh hour due to budget cuts. Other small business friends have offered support for which we are very grateful. To defray costs, we are selling ad space in our information guide and in our gallery catalog. We have a small corps of volunteer organizers. We have the enthusiastic participation of more than 35 galleries and other venues.