GACHAPON at ARTcade
ガチャポン
Try your luck on JA-NE's gachapon machines, filled with art and trinkets from local Colorado and Japanese American artists at Understudy's ARTcade in the Denver Theater District (December through January 2021).
Public hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 12:00pm – 8:00pm. Closed December 24, 25, 31.
Understudy is free-to-visit and open to all and located at the Colorado Convention Center / Theatre District light rail stop near 14th and Stout. Look for the Shantell Martin art bench.
WHAT ARE GACHAPON?
Found in nearly every corner of Japan, gachapon, or gashapon, are machines selling "blind-box" capsule toys and other small items typically for 300 - 500 yen .
Both gashapon and gachapon are Japanese onomatopoeia, made up of two sounds:
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"gasha" or "gacha" = the turning of a crank on a toy vending machine
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"pon" = the sound of the toy capsule dropping into the receptacle.
WHO ARE THE ARTISTS?
Akemi is a yonsei artist based in Denver, Colorado. Her work has themes of whimsicality, adventure and magic with a Japanese cultural lens. Her illustrations are inspired by Japanese folklore, Western occult symbolism and fairytales. Her "chrysanthemum" design is featured on the blue gachapon machine.
Included in the gachapon:
Live Deliciously and Wisdom Keeper Stickers + ZOTTO chochin pin
Born and raised in Utah, Kawaguchi’s practice began in graffiti, where his dedication to precision met the chaos of the spray-can. On a lifelong pursuit of mastery, Kawaguchi's artistic practice revolves around a recurring character that reflects his identity as an Asian American artist while representing the power of the creative that he feels resides within each of us.
Included in the gachapon:
Exclusive Holographic Stickers + Art Stickers
www.caseykawaguchi.com
"Roronoa Zolo" in some English adaptations), nicknamed "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, is a fictional character in the One Piece. Zoro is uniquely known as an expert of Santōryū (Three Sword Style), where he wields a third sword with his mouth in combat, as depicted in these limited edition stickers! His hand-painted art is featured on the right-hand gachapon machine!
Included in the gachapon:
Roronoa Zoro 9x3 Weatherproof Stickers
Yuta is a Denver-based photographer, graphic designer, artist, trained scientist, patent agent, product designer. Yuta's "The Witch and the Shark" series are depicted on these limited run acrylic pins!
Included in the gachapon:
"The Witch and the Shark" acrylic pins
Lauren shares her time between Seattle and Cambodia. Her main medium is intricately hand-cut paper, often incorporating layers of ink washed paper and focusing on negative space and shadow play. She will be featured at the McNichols Civic Center Building from Jan - Apr '22.
Included in the gachapon:
Exclusive Tsuru Circle Acrylic Pins
Thank you to Mallory Hart for the donation to JA-NE of the crane, pacman, and cake earrings! All other gachapon stickers are original JA-NE designs.
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
