Background

In September, 2019, the Rugby World Cup will be held in Japan for the first time ever. However, rugby was not generating the excitement it deserved in the country. Japan’s pro rugby league match average attendance is less than one-third that of other sports like pro baseball and soccer. To boost attendance for the Rugby World Cup Japan Tournament, measures were implemented mainly in major cities where the World Cup matches would be held.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

To get people excited for rugby, we needed to convey its appeal to those with no connection or knowledge of the sport. We explored ways to associate it with a completely different category. The biggest key to the project was the discovery that many of Japan’s artists and creators used to participate in the rugby clubs of their alma mater. We gathered 15 people from an array of musicians, architects, visual artists, and designers who used to be involved in rugby clubs, forming a kind of all-Japan art-world rugby team. We decided to have each of the artists design works based on the theme of the rugby ball, and hold an unprecedented exhibition that attempted to fuse rugby and art. They would each create original works making the best of their unique abilities and signature styles, completing what would be called an Art Scrum.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

We had 15 artists design various pieces for an exhibition that would tour major cities where rugby matches are held. We focused on rolling out the exhibition in established tourist spots like museums and commercial facilities, while gaining attention from a wide range of generations. Each of the artworks were made to fit in encased units, allowing the exhibition to nimbly tour from location to location throughout the country until the end of the Rugby World Cup Japan Tournament.

List the results (20% of vote)

The unique and novel idea of combining rugby with an art exhibition, naturally brought many people to stop and take a look. When the exhibition was held in Tokyo’s Marunouchi alone, it received 250,000 visitors in just five days. At an eleven day exhibition held in Yokohama, and an eight day exhibition in Osaka, an additional 95,000 and 700,000 came into contact with the works, respectively. Furthermore, it was covered by a full range of media like newspaper, on the web, and so forth, as well as spreading on social media. There have been numerous inquiries from museums across Japan to host the Art Scrum exhibition, and we look forward to visiting more locations in the country.