A Festival, Exhibition or Show You Saw

I have been lucky enough to attend some AMAZING festivals, exhibitions & shows during my lifetime (remember I am very ancient). As a teenager I hitched-hiked from my home town of Chester to London to see the biggest ever exhibition of Salvador Dali. In 1979 I went to FUTURAMA - the world's first Science Fiction Music Festival and saw bands like Joy Division, Orchestral Manouvres in The Dark (OMD) and  PIL amongst others. I have been to the Notting Hill Festival countless times & the Fallas de Valencia 4 or 5 times. S.U.E, Lollapalooza, Primavera Fauna..... a long list.

Today I'm going to write about an exhibition I saw out of pure luck but is a cultural highlight for me. In 2017, I found 2 cheap-last minute flights to Japan on the, now defunct, LAN Last Minute Offers webpage.  It was the country my wife and I had always wanted to visit. I bought the tickets without hesitation. 2 weeks at the beginning of February. Two days after buying the flight tickets I saw an advert announcing that the Victoria & Albert Museum's touring show of David Bowie was heading to Tokyo at the same time we would be there. As a life-long Bowie fan I was in ecstasy and bought tickets for our first full-day in Japan.



The exhibition was in a very trendy, newly built area of the city which I think is constructed on either man-made islands or reclaimed land. The show was amazing. It told the story of Bowie's life and rise to fame with many wonderful relics that were on display for the first time. We spent 3 or 4 hours in the exhibition. It wasn't too busy when we arrived but about an hour later it began to get more crowded.. 


What I liked about the exhibition is the fact that Bowie had allowed the museum full access to all his costumes and archieves of photographs and recordings, both audio & video. There was so much unseen or unheard material that fans had access to for the very first time. The museum also did an excellent job to portrayl Bowie's genius and appeal. The exhibition had obviously been created by someone who was extremely familiar with Bowie and his work and how he had become a cultural icon.

Visiting Japan was an truely spiritual experience. Being able to experience the Bowie exhibition increased that sensation:)

Write about a festival, exhibition or show you saw.

Say:

What it was,

When you went,

Who you went with,

What you enjoyed about it and why.

 

Comments

  1. Tell me the truth teacher, was the exhibition the real reason for the trip? Many coincidences for me.

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  2. Only once, unfortunately. I have an invitation to go from a Japanese friend but I haven´t been able to go because of covid.

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  3. Japan plus Bowie, it must have been amazing.

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    Replies
    1. It was, Vale. I have wonderful memories of that day (plus lots of photos)

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  4. Definitely David Bowie is a legend who has left the whole world enjoying his legacy, what a good experience he had, a teacher.

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    1. I was lucky enough to see him live 5 times. He was a wonderful performer who changed the face of pop music:)

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  6. omg i really like japan, that must have been a really good experience

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    1. Fantastic! We visited Tokyo, Kyoto,Hiroshima, Miyajima, Matsuyama ( on Shikoku) and Osaka. I think it is the counrty I would most like to re-visit.

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  7. My friend Cala love Bowie, so nice your experience!

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  8. Replies
    1. In a flash. I was only there for 2 weeks. There is so much left to see:)

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  9. Wich was the last concert that you attended?

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    Replies
    1. I went to see Roy Ayers last year but before I left for China in 2019 I went to see Gorillaz, Hip-Hop group De La Soul and also Canadian pop rockers The Arcade Fire.What about you?

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  10. I want to go a concert in China, not here.

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    Replies
    1. I couldn´t go to any concerts in China because of Covid:(

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  11. https://rukumartuko-on-ig.blogspot.com/

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  12. Amazing experience teacher!! and i have a question... what was your favorite food in japan?

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    1. I was vegetarian in 2017 (vegan now) but we found some amazing sushi & lots of great dishes with tofu. In Osaka a Japanese lady we met took us to eat a really interesting fried food made with cabbage. It was delicious.

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  13. Replies
    1. About 28 hours (2 x 14 hour flights) plus a 7 hour layover in the US.

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  14. wow, that was such a lucky trip!

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  15. How was the experience of a show in a different country? I imagine they’re not the same everywhere.

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    1. I think it was a similar show in most countries it visited but they produced some special items in each place. i heard some galleries had less space so they showed fewer items.

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  16. Japan and Bowie, what a fantastic combination

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    Replies
    1. Bowie had a special relationship with Japan. He worked with a Japanese clothes designer called Yamamoto.

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    Replies
    1. Incredible that they coincided with them just when they went to Japan

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  18. I loved your experience! I imagine how great it must be to travel to a new country, and at the same time attend a show of your favorite style :)

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  19. so lucky, what is your favorite David Bowie song?

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