Craft x Tech Tokai Project at V&A: Japanese Craft Meets Global Design

From September 12 to 30, 2026, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London hosts Craft x Tech Tokai Project, an exhibition curated by Maria Cristina Didero, presented as a Special Project of the London Design Festival 2026. The project pairs six traditional Japanese craft regions from the Tokai area with six international designers, resulting in contemporary works that blend heritage techniques with modern innovation. The exhibition is held in the Medieval & Renaissance Room 64b, The Simon Sainsbury Gallery at V&A South Kensington, and is free to the public. Featured collaborations include Iga Kumihimo with Atang Tshikare (Yamollo), Seto Sometsuke Yaki with Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO), and Mino Washi with Lanzavecchia + Wai (Grid Unwoven). The project challenges the dichotomy between tradition and innovation, emphasizing that technology and craftsmanship can coexist, transforming ancient knowledge into new possibilities. The V&A setting, renowned for applied arts and design, provides a fitting backdrop for this dialogue between past and present. The exhibition remains open beyond the festival dates, until September 30, offering visitors a chance to see how these six Japanese traditions become starting points for contemporary reflection. The project underscores the idea that the future of craftsmanship lies not in preserving the past intact, but in allowing it to evolve and live on.