I am sending you a message I got recently from Japan. A very interesting exhibition took place in Japan this year. It was dedicated to 10 year activity of artist association PRINTSAURUS in Japan. Artists from different countries were invited to take part in this exhibition. Most of them are print makers, but artists working with different materials were invited as well as, so drawings, paintings and other techniques could be represented. Each participated artist got a parcel with special paper for making a fan. When they make their works, they sent them back to Japan where masters of this handicraft made fans. The basis for each work was a traditional Japanese folding fan. I welcome you to visit a virtual exhibition -
http://gallery.nsc.ru/Exhibitions/interlinks/fans/

PRINTSAURUS is planning the same exhibition next year. It will travel to several countries: USA, Belgium, China, Russia. PRINTSAURUS is a non-profit organization. It is not easy to realize such international project without support outside, so last year they invited their friends only. Nevertheless if anybody wants to participate, if he/she has serious intentions and (it is very important!) if he/she or any Museum in his/her country can contribute in this project giving some financial support, please contact me (by Dec.15!!!): amart@ommfao.sscc.ru
or Yuriko Miyoshi: yuriko@cmpk.or.jp
or Hiroaki Miyayama (he is a curator of planned exhibition).
I include his letter below.

Good luck and best wishes.
Andrey Martynov

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Hiroaki MIYAYAMA
representative of Printsaurus
81-474-76-6132

Dear our friends

About the international traveling exhibition of folding fan we have made an important decision. We Printsaurus will be a base for this project.

The reason is that it will be hard for the 0riental Museum to get a financial support of the Japan foundation's Exhibition Assistance Program. But there are some foundations for the international cultural exchange in Japan. So we will try them. But it is very difficult to get them. As this project is excellent, we hope to get a chance. If we can get a financial support, it will be easy to hold the exhibition at the museum which doesn't have enough budget. If we can get enough money, the museum must prepare only the space. But if we can't get it, we will consider the project again.

Anyway we will prepare the papers to apply. To make the perfect papers we need the details that the museum can know now. If you or a museum want to hold the holding fan exhibition, could you inform me the possibility as soon as possible.
And next you should prepare an official plan and an estimate by the museum about the followings.
* the date of the exhibition
* the place
* the fee to make an invitation card
* the fee to transport the works to the country where the next exhibition will be held
* the fee of the hotel, if you want to invite a Japanese artist or artisan etc. whatever you need to hold this exhibition in your country.
Now we want to know the fees of everything to make the papers.

Now the Museum have a budget or not, it is not so important. And if the director of the Museum can write something like the followings to the foundation, it's better.
* Though we want to invite an artist, we don't have enough budget.
* As we don't know how to handle the fan and how to make it, we want to invite an artisan.
* As we will hold a lecture meeting for the public audience about the history of the fan, we want to invite a lecture.
* We don't have enough budget to make a catalog with color photos. etc...whatever the reasons why you need a financial support.

We will apply to 2 foundations. The deadline of the both is 20th December. We must hurry. If you can know only the date, it's ok now. But until l5th December inform me the details that you can check and send me an official paper of the plan by the museum and the materials of the museum to identify it for the foundations.

We must hurry. The more museums participate, the more we can get the possibility.
I'm looking forward to your answer.