NEWS

“Imabari Towel Digital Art Gallery” in the digital space open on May 25th

The Japanese local brand “Imabari Towel” promoted by The Imabari Towel Industrial Association opens “Imabari Towel Digital Art Gallery” in a digital space on May 25, 2024.
With innovative approaches such as digital technology and generative AI, we bring the attraction of Imabari Towel and the spirit of manufacturing to people all over the world.

The creation process has seen the involvement of global artists. The composition of this gallery is “The essence of Imabari Towel,” “Imabari Towels x Digital” and “Imabari Towel Digital Art.” Once the digital gallery is unveiled, plans will unfold to curate a diverse array in our official store and develop collaborative products with NFT.

For 130 years, Imabari Towel has been manufacturing based on its “safe, secure, and high-quality” towels in the Imabari region of Ehime Prefecture as sacred place for towel making, and has established an unshakable position as a towel producing area. In 2006, “Imabari Towel Branding Project” was launched when towel manufacturers were suffering from rapid increase of imports of foreign products along with the gathering wave of globalization. However, Imabari Towel has been recognized by over 90% of people in Japan and loved by customers in recent years through that period of time.
15 years have passed since the project was launched. We have focused on increasing awareness and developing each manufacturer’s brand based on the master brand “Imabari Towel” as the second phase since March 2023. We have been actively holding pop-up events by manufacturers at “Imabari Towel Minami Aoyama Store” (Minato-ku, Tokyo).
As for digital measures, we have disseminated “IMABARI LIFE” which provides information about the Imabari producing area and “TOWEL STORY” which introduces philosophy for towel-making on the imabari towel official brand website. Also, we share the appeal of Imabari towels to a wide range of ages through social media.

At this time, we opened the “Imabari Towel Digital Art Gallery” in the digital space, with digital technology and generative AI, to approach users in Japan and overseas. Digital artists involved in the digital development of world-famous brands have also participated in the creation process. In the exhibit space of “Imabari Towel x Digital,” we display 13 towels full of originality based on the essence of Imabari towel-“safe, secure, and high quality.” At “Imabari Towel Digital Art,” artist’s works created with the concept of “Imabari” and “Towel” are showcased.

*This image is under development.

The opening day, May 25, is known as “Towel Day” across the globe. The gallery has a role as a way to communicate with users both domestically and internationally.
Exhibits will be changed regularly and events will be held in the gallery. We are also planning to collaborate with digital artists and develop towel products.

*Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams by his fans. On this day, fans openly carry a towel with them, as described in Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author. The commemoration was first held 25 May 2001, two weeks after Adams’ death on 11 May. The follow-up book explained the importance of towels in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy universe in Chapter 3; “A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.”-Wikipedia

Digital artists involved in the digital development of world-famous brands have joined in the creation process. They created artworks inspired by “Imabari” and “Towel.”

Artist Guide

Annie Chiu “AI-generated Works themed on Imabari and Imabari Towels”

Annie Chiu
Originally from Brooklyn, New York. After working in NY and LA, she’s currently residing in Amsterdam. As the Executive Creative Director at advertising agency Soursop, she leads global teams of creative for clients like Nike. Her new home is surrounded by Imabari towels. Exhibited artworks: “AI-generated Works themed on Imabari and Imabari Towels”
https://anniechiu.co/

Saeko Ehara “Message”

Saeko Ehara
Saeko Ehara is a Kirakira (sparkling) artist and VJ based in Tokyo. Her works mainly represent Kirakira. In her latest works, she explores combining AI and Generative Art. She keeps learning and exploring the expressions of Kirakira with multiple ways. Exhibited artworks: “Spiraling Haze,” “Message,” “Over The Rainbow”
https://skohr.works/about

Aurora Achille “Ethereal Purity: A Harmonious Symphony of Imabari’s Essence”

Aurora Achille
Based in Rome, Italy. A 3D/Visual Art • Digital fashion designer. Exhibited at Milan Design Week 2023, selected as one of the first nine members of the L’Oréal-backed world’s first beauty creator DAO “GORJS” team Alpha, and launched an NFT collection. Also serves as the Chief Designer for “MA3.0” project, which promotes women and regional revitalization across Japan.Lover of Imabari towels.
Exhibited artworks: “Ethereal Purity: A Harmonious Symphony of Imabari’s Essence”
https://www.instagram.com/aurorae.___/

As a first phase, 13 towels recommended by towel producers are displayed in this space. We bring a new allure of Imabari Towel and the spirits of manufacturing as digital arts.

In this exhibit space, we introduce the producing area of Imabari towels, the brand logo, and the quality standards (12 inspection items) of Imabari towel brand products. You can watch the video here about quality inspections and the towel manufacturing process.

Open Anniversary- NFT Limited products

Imabari towel products on display are available for purchase as a set. (3 types, only 10 for each) It has NFT as a special advantage for opening the gallery. By scanning the LGT tag with your smartphone, you can get the edition number and ownership. Please try towel-tasting and find a towel that is just right for you.

How to enjoy this gallery

You can easily enter the gallery from your mobile phone or PC.

PC/SP view *This image is under development.

“Imabari Towel’s recognition in Japan has increased, and we are entering the second stage of promoting the manufacturer’s brand. This time, we collaborated with digital artists who are fans of Imabari towels. We hope to deliver the essential value of Imabari towels and each producer’s manufacturing to a wide range of people through this project. There is more to come.”-Imabari Towel Industrial Association President, Hiroshi Masaoka

Produced by

MA3world Inc.
TOHOKUSHINSHA FILM CORPORATION SIGHT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

IMABARI TOWEL INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION

President：HIROSHI MASAOKA
Address：5-14-3 Higashimon-cho, Imabari,
Ehime 794-0033 JAPAN
Member companies: 79
Facebook(@imabaritowel)
https://www.facebook.com/imabaritowel?locale=ja_JP
Instagram(@imabaritowelofficial)
https://www.instagram.com/imabaritowelofficial/?hl=ja
 
 

MA3world Inc.

CEO：Mina Kitano
Address：Nittochi Nishishinjuku Building 8F, 6-10-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan
TEL：+81-3-5325-3099
URL：https://ma3world.com/
EMAIL：info@ma3world.com
Established：October 19, 2023
Business Activities：
Digital and physical product PR for local specialties and production areas
Production and operation in the Metaverse and Web3 (leveraging in-house experience and resources in digital twins, avatars, metaverse platforms, and 3D digital fashion; offering consulting, production, and operation services for businesses)
Advertising photography, production, and management of models and artists
Digital media operation services for company SNS and websites
Operation of own media (MA3.0, New York Bishojo Zukan)
 
 

TOHOKUSHINSHA FILM CORPORATION

Location：
(Head Office) 4-8-10 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8460, Japan
(SIGHT PROJECT MANAGEMENT) 3F Hakuzan Building, 3-14-22 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0011, Japan
TEL：
+81-3-5414-0211 (Head Office)
+81-3-5778-4512 (SIGHT PROJECT MANAGEMENT)
Founded：April 1, 1961
Business Activities：
A comprehensive video production company engaged in all aspects of video-related business. We offer a wide range of services, including commercial production, promotion production, graphic and web production, sound and subtitle production, TV program and movie production, licensing business, BS and CS broadcasting-related businesses, and online distribution.