Sept. 2nd – KATAMARI: A BENEFIT FOR JOIN PDX

I’m very excited to announce the details of our First Thursday art show coming up September 2nd of this year.  The show is called KATAMARI and it’s based around my favorite video game, Katamari Damacy.  My friends and I lovingly refer to it as the “Zen” video game even though the intense gameplay would often accelerate our heart rates to dangerous levels.  The creator, Keita Takahashi, once stated that he created the game to bring about world peace.  If everyone played the game no one would want to fight wars anymore.

We have Katamari and Noby Noby Boy inspired artwork from over 30 artists and illustrators.  There will be a mix of original pieces and also archival prints of the digital submissions.

This benefit show is a not-for-profit fundraiser. 100% of the proceeds will go to JOIN – a local nonprofit organization that works to “connect the street to a home”.  The prints will be available for sale on 1st Thursday.  The original art will be sold on eBay during the last month of September as part of the fundraiser.

We have also partnered with local software/design company, PANIC, who have the unique honor of being the only company in the world allowed to license Katamari or Noby Noby Boy designs for t-shirts.

(promo image by Ed Kwong)

LISTING INFORMATION:

WHO: Over 30 artists including: Jeffrey Brown, Michael Deforge, Ana Galvan, Zane Kozak, Chris Kuzma, Edward Kwong, Le Merde, Luke Ramsey, David Rubin, Alena Skarina, Katie Skelly, Zack Soto, Pete Toms, Angie Wang, and more!
WHAT: Art opening, fundraiser for JOIN
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 2nd, 6-10PM
WHERE: Floating World Comics, 20 NW 5th Ave #101, Portland, OR 97209, (503)241-0227

Show runs through Sept. 30th

A statement from Marc Jolin, executive director of JOIN:

Annually, our six person street outreach team helps about 450 people end their homelessness by helping them return to permanent housing, and they, with the help of our housing retention team, provide support to another 600 or so people to help prevent them from becoming homeless. Our support starts with committing to a long-term relationship with each person we support and then typically includes help navigating the social service system, finding employment, accessing landlords who will provide a second chance, and helping overcome financial barriers to housing (like those I mentioned above).  We also have a day space that provides critical basic services like a mailing address, phone, showers, lockers, pet food, computers, a community garden, and more.

Funds raised will provide financial assistance to help individuals and families either move off the streets into homes of their own or to prevent a family from becoming homeless. It would therefore pay for things like application fees, deposits, utility connections, transportation assistance, storage, and the like.

There is more information about our history and programming on our website, www.joinpdx.com.

View photos of the entire exhibit here

Preview Katamari artwork here

Interview with Katamari creator, Keita Takahashi