'Otaku' Japanese home display, other art exhibits take center stage during Japan Week at WWU

Western Washington University students Galadriel Brown, right, and Sami Butler participate in the "Otaku" exhibit on Tuesday, May 4, in Fine Arts Gallery Room 118 on the WWU campus.

Western Washington University’s Art Department is putting on a series of events under the title "Tokyo Tour, from Otaku and Urban Zen, to Robophilia and Fashion" in honor of WWU's Japan Week on May 4 and 6 on the WWU campus. The events are free and open to the public.

• "Otaku" – 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Tuesday, May 4 in WWU’s Fine Arts Gallery room 118. Visitors will experience Japanese pop culture up close, with manga, anime, and video games in a simulated space that will duplicate the experience of being devoted to these activities.
• "Urban Zen" – 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Tuesday, May 4 in front of WWU’s Fine Arts Gallery. This installation questions the role of Zen Buddhist philosophy in an urban environment and how Zen Buddhism agrees and conflicts with current go-green advertising.
• "Robophilia" – 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Tuesday, May 4 in front of WWU’s Red Square Fountain or in front of Bond Hall if it is raining. This interactive sculpture posits a possible future for the Japanese robotics and air purifying industries – collaborating to create air-purifying robots.
• "Fashion" – 7-9 p.m., Thursday, May 6 in WWU’s Viking Union Multipurpose Room. This interactive performance will give visitors an opportunity to sample different contemporary fashions and identities from a well-stocked Japanese clothing rack. The event is being held in conjunction with Japan Night, which is sponsored by WWU’s Asia University America Program.

For more information, contact Julia Sapin, associate professor of Art History at (360) 650-3670 or julia.sapin@wwu.edu.