Yami-Ichi 闇市

About YAMI-ICHI YAMI-ICHI (‘Black market’ in Japanese) is an international art project that replicates a traditional art auction, but replaces cash payments with non-monetary trade-offs and exchanges. The project seeks to answer the question - ‘Other than monetary cost, how can art be valued?’. It’s primary intention is to challenge the current perception of art as a commodity in a capitalistic art market and to encourage young and emerging artists to re-evaluate how their work can be perceived and connect them with potential clients or future collaborators. The project’s debut event was held in Tokyo in partnership with the local council and businesses in March 2017. This event attracted 700 visitors over three days and was covered by a variety of local media. Two more auctions were subsequently held in collaboration with London’s Camden Council using properties that had been, historically, vacant. In 2018, YAMI-ICHI travelled to Holland and held a multi-media event in collaboration with Young Blood Initiative, an Amsterdam based artist collective.