Rediscover the charm of the region through art with “Nishi Nippon ARTrail” to be held at EXPO Sakaba Kita Main Branch
Demoexpo General Incorporated Association Press Release: September 10, 2025 “Nishi Nippon ARTrail,” an event where you can rediscover the charm of the local area through art, will be held at EXPO Sakaba Kita Main Branch. ~Introducing art festivals taking place in Western Japan this fall | September 15th (Monday, national holiday) – September 21st (Sunday), 2025~
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Development Co., Ltd. (Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka), operator of LUCUA Osaka, is a project that responds to changing lifestyles and values and promotes the charms of the region through art, making it a place people will want to visit. The first event was held this spring, and this is the second. The EXPO Sakaba Kita Main Branch, which will be the venue for the event, will display posters of art festivals being held across Western Japan and provide information to help visitors learn about the appeal of these festivals. In addition, talk events featuring art festival organizers and key project promoters will introduce the highlights of each art festival, as well as the appeal of the region that “makes you want to visit” through art. [Nishi Nippon ARTrail Talk Event] September 15, 2025 All of these changes will be implemented on Monday, September 15, 2025 (national holiday). ・The talk will be held at two venues: “SHARE LOUNGE” in Umeda Tsutaya Bookstore and “EXPO Sakaba Kita Main Branch” ・Admission is free, but reservations are required ■ 16:00-17:00 “Exploring the Chugoku and Shikoku Areas.” Venue: Umeda Tsutaya Bookstore SHARE LOUNGE Lucuaire 9F
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-2d728290d738f9fbd6a3ed6a87a1927d-2235×561.jpg Speakers (titles omitted) Tetsuyuki Imataki (Setouchi Triennale, Setouchi Triennale Executive Committee/Kagawa Prefecture Setouchi Triennale Promotion Division) Yoshinobu Uno (Executive Director of the Setouchi Triennale Business Department, Fukutake Foundation, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation / Secretary General of the “Setouchi Triennale Museum Collaboration” Project Executive Committee) Yoshikuni Shirai (Hiroshima International Architecture Festival / Director, Kamibara-Tsuneishi Cultural Foundation) Kinoshita Chieko (Okayama Art Summit / Public Program Director) Shigeki Hattori (Moderator / Creative Director, CEO of graf) ■ 17:30-18:20 “Exploring the Kinki Area.” Venue: SHARE LOUNGE, Umeda Tsutaya Bookstore, Lucua 1110, 9th floor
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-7f9f63146bac54293e65267124399c1e-1837×544.jpg Speakers (titles omitted) Kaoru Teraura (Assistant Venue Design Producer/Art Coordinator, 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo) Rin Kanazawa (Art Rhizome KYOTO Planning Team/Contemporary Art Curator) Chieko Kinoshita (Secretary General, Creative Island Nakanoshima Executive Committee) Junko Sasanuki (Moderator/Art & Creative Coordinator) ■ 7:00 PM – 7:50 PM “Exploring the Hokuriku Area.” Venue: “EXPO Sakaba Kita Main Branch,” Lucua Osaka B2F, Atrium-side escalator atrium
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-9f7c4e94ba2c4f956459894ee196fb74-1785×521.jpg [Speaker] (Title omitted) Jun Ura (GO FOR KOGEI (Producer/Chairman of Certified NPO Shito Kanazawa) Saki Kondo (Graphic Designer, Ichiba-gai Creative Team/President, Studio Loska) Yuhi Imai (Executive
Chairperson, Oterart Kanazawa 2025/Chief Priest, Monzenji Temple) Kiyofumi Deguchi (Moderator/Nishi Nippon ARTrail Producer) ■ 19:50-20:30 “Exploring Western Japan’s Art Festivals and Regions.” Venue: “EXPO Sakaba Kita Main Store,” Lucua Osaka B2F Atrium side escalator stairwell
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-1f55ae240aa87db9c0b54562a87803ec-1816×536.jpg Speakers (titles omitted) Tetsuyuki Imataki (Setouchi Triennale, Setouchi Triennale Executive Committee, Kagawa Prefecture Setouchi Triennale Promotion Division) Takuya Nomura (VS. Chief Executive Producer and Vice President) Shigeki Hattori (President of
graf/Creative Director) Kiyofumi Deguchi (Moderator/Producer of Nishi Nippon ARTrail) Reservation for viewing (free
admission) *Limited to 50 people per session, first-come, first-served. Registration will close once capacity is reached. *All announcements posted here are current as of September 10, 2025. Performers and program content may change without notice. Nishi Nippon ARTrail 2025 Autumn Session Event Overview [Organizer] JR West Japan SC Development Co., Ltd. [Supported by] Setouchi Triennale Executive Committee / “Setouchi Triennale Collaboration” Project Executive Committee / Okayama Art Exchange Center Executive Committee / Kambara-Tsuneishi Cultural Foundation / DESIGNEAST Executive Committee / Creative Island Nakanoshima Executive Committee / Osaka Kansai International Arts Festival Executive Committee / KYOTO EXPERIMENT / Art Rhizome KYOTO Executive Committee / Certified NPO Shuto Kanazawa / VS. Consortium / MOTOKOLOGY Jik Executive Committee /graf / E-DESIGN Co., Ltd. / Umeda Tsutaya Books / general
incorporated association demoexpo
What is demo!expo
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-ef886944e8b1ef35ac0fb70a3f3658fb-420×403.png [Organization Name] Demoexpo General Incorporated Association [Location] Aiko Building 4F, 1-12-11 Kyomachibori, Nishi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka [Established] April 13, 2023 [Representative Director] Hanaoka [Directors] Haruyo Imamura, Eri Okamoto, Nobuo Tomita, Kenichi Nagai, Takahiro Hisaoka, Sibol Yamane [Main
Activities] A group of producers and creators who launch
“demonstrations” from the streets Official website demo!expo’s past activities The “EXPO Bar Project”: A gathering place for people from all over Japan who want to enjoy the Expo. Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-3dda320370286aa0005dd1cd0e59196d-1024×501.jpg This project aims to hold “EXPO Bars” across the country, where people interested in the Osaka-Kansai Expo and those hoping to launch new initiatives in their local areas can gather and chat. These events have spawned a variety of projects, providing a forum for exchange of ideas between Expo staff and the general public without
discrimination. Starting in the spring of 2022, on July 18th of the same year, marking 1,000 days until the Expo, the event will be held simultaneously in two prefectures and four prefectures in the Kansai region. Currently, approximately 75 events have been held, primarily in Osaka and Kansai, from Aomori to Kagoshima, with a cumulative total of over 5,100 people attending. Going forward, we aim to further expand our bases and create a scene where excitement thrives simultaneously, fostering momentum from Kansai to the rest of the country and the world. Official website List of projects inspired by the Expo
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-9e34b06bd9bed93de1f69b456e7deaaa-1920×1280.jpg New Osaka Souvenir Plan by Osaka Ee Yokan In this project,
Kansai-based Japanese confectionery makers join forces to create a new “souvenir confectionery” that will become the face of Osaka, and establish it as part of Osaka culture. Project details
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-c6ec9bb8de2e0ae09f3adcd256a30956-750×500.jpg EXPO University An event in a workshop format to consider how Kansai universities can be involved in the Osaka-Kansai Expo. (The “EXPO University” will be held in April 2023.) (Kansai University Campus) Project Details
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-178d27443a3579c521b49daecd9cb484-799×533.png EXPO TRAIN A chartered train event where shops, businesses, and artists from along the line appear as pavilions on board the train, showcasing the charms of the region in their entirety. (The “EXPO TRAIN Kintetsu” will be held in July 2023, and the “EXPO TRAIN Hankyu” in April 2024.) EXPO TRAIN Kintetsu Event Report EXPO TRAIN Hankyu Event Report
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-aa8f5130b7aded818089ca37270ff08d-3900×2600.jpg Yayakoshi Manor’s Undelivered Gift by Panasonic This hands-on workshop, based on the theme of “An experience that allows children to set themselves free,” at the Panasonic Group Pavilion “Nomo no Kuni,” draws out children’s powers of imagination and creativity. Project details Another Expo Created from the City demo!expo is working towards the goal of “creating an Expo from the city, with the people of the city at the center,” and is working toward 2025. As a culmination of this, we aim to create another Expo from the city, a “Machigoto Expo.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-a9882a9e62e3dd3743c329a8ac443063-1896×1290.png EXPO TEAM CAMP 2022 to be held three years before the opening demo!expo was formed in September 2021, and the following year, in March 2022, the organization’s first event, “EXPO TEAM CAMP 2022,” will be held. The first Expo event, “2022,” was held at Yumeshima. Expo officials, promising startups, and students considering their future careers gathered together for talk sessions and a forum for participants to share their dreams and challenges. Press release Event Report
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-da168a17c826e07d5219ee7c86f111ab-1200×1200.png “Machigoto Banpaku 2023” to be held two years before the opening On April 13, 2023, two years before the opening, “Machigoto Banpaku 2023” was held in Osaka, where various activities were carried out for approximately one month to create various initiatives in the city. Press release Event report
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-f06ff2e4f46910a23afa5376aeef5d5d-3000×2000.jpg One Year Before the Opening, the “City-to-Expo Bus Tour” and “City-to-Expo Platform” Announced On April 12, 2024, one year before the opening, we announced the “City-to-Expo Bus Tour,” a bus tour packed with attractions different from the usual Osaka cityscape, and the “City-to-Expo Platform.” Event report
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/139145/58/139145-58-cf28c703d66b283309a16b631ad6475f-2018×1068.jpg “HH EXPO”, “EKI EXPO” and “EXPO OPEN STREET” held 6 months before opening On October 13, 2024, six months before the opening, we launched the “demo!tape” demonstration project, which proposes new ways to enjoy the city, mainly in the Umeda area. It was implemented at the “HH EXPO,” “EKI EXPO,” and “EXPO OPEN STREET” events, which were held to build momentum for the Expo. Event report
