The Origin Story of Art Runway

It began when I hit a personal limit with the contrast of light and darkness in my artistic work.

I think many artists—myself included—carry a lingering question deep inside: “Do I even belong in this society?” I struggled to fit in, often felt like I was forcing myself to live a certain way, and never quite found where I belonged. The only time I truly felt aligned with myself was when I was creating art. In those moments, I didn’t have to lie to anyone. I could fully immerse in my own senses and the artwork. That was pure bliss for me.

No, it’s not that simple.
The truth is, I do want more people to see my work. I want to expand my reach as an artist.
That desire drives me to hold solo exhibitions, to participate in group shows.
But every time, I find myself torn—
what begins as a sense of self-alignment slowly turns into self-separation.
It’s painful—so painful that I feel like I’m being pulled apart into pieces.

Especially in group exhibitions, I find myself overwhelmed by constant comparisons and evaluations.
It quickly becomes painful.
Thoughts like:
“That person has so many visitors. I must not be popular.”
“Their technique is incredible. I’m still so inexperienced.”
I can’t stop judging myself.
And sometimes, I simply want to disappear from this world.
When my work goes unnoticed, it feels as though I don’t even exist.
And yet, what saves me are those fleeting moments—
when someone looks at my piece and says, “This is beautiful.”
Or when I get to talk about my work.
In those moments, I genuinely feel good.
And I began to wonder:
“Could I expand this feeling somehow?”
I also realized how unskilled I was at speaking about my own work.
So I started to wish:
“I want to gain experience in expressing my art through practice—in real settings.”

TD. Yes. I created a space where artists could share their portfolios and talk about their work, even without having an exhibition. I realized the act of “talking about one’s art” itself had deep value. Artists came from all over Japan. That’s when I understood I wasn’t the only one craving a space like this.

It gave me a clear view of the challenges artists face. Watching them passionately flip through portfolios, I felt this hunger growing inside: “I want something more. A different approach.”

I continued exhibiting and even sold artworks, which was incredibly fulfilling. But I came to a realization: repeating exhibitions and selling pieces—something was missing from that cycle.

Simply put: a sense of being alive. That soul-stirring moment when you feel, “This is why I’m here.” Selling art made me happy, but it quickly turned into, “I need to sell more.” It felt endless and unfulfilling. So I paused and reflected on my life.

I remembered my time as a stage actor. Being on stage, I felt truly alive. That was the key—I needed a stage.

Exactly. I wanted to perform as an artist. Then I recalled an experience at World Art Dubai 2024. There was a performance called “Art Walk,” where artists walked across a stage holding their artworks. The MC did beautiful artist introductions. I loved it so much, it made me want to go to Dubai just for that. But in Japan, nothing like it existed.So I thought, why not create an upgraded version myself? That’s when the idea hit me:

walk the red carpet, holding artworks.

I was born in Otsu. Though I now split my time between Tokyo and Otsu, I felt that I had to launch the first event in my hometown. It was a thrilling and risky decision.

To be honest, Otsu isn’t known for its art scene. It’s a quiet city despite being a prefectural capital.

Yes. But there was a spark of hope. At one of the art bars I held in Otsu, I shared my vision—and people resonated. That’s when I knew it could work.

From there, I gave it everything I had. I emailed every art school, gallery, and studio I could find. Sometimes I visited places directly, just to find kindred spirits.

Many emails went unanswered. One gallery even told me, “We’re all senior citizens now. We walk with canes. We can’t walk holding artwork.” It was a gentle but clear rejection.

Still, slowly but surely, people began to support the project—helping with posters, assisting with operations. Each person was a treasure.

It truly was. What helped me the most was a social media platform called Threads. I shared my vision for Art Runway over and over with passion. Eventually, artists across Japan began taking interest.

In the end, 16 artists from all over the country gathered in Otsu. Despite me having no track record, they trusted me with their works. It was like a dream.

From Tokyo, Aichi, Wakayama, Mie, Gifu, Kyoto—even within Shiga itself—
when I heard that some people were traveling and even staying overnight just to be there,
to be honest, I was shaken.
I thought:
“If they’re making the effort to come all the way to Shiga, I absolutely have to make this a success.”
Just rolling out a red carpet in front of that plain little train station wouldn’t be enough to create a miracle.
I had to create something that would.

Simply laying down a red carpet in front of that plain Otsu Station wouldn’t be enough.
I asked myself,
“How can I transform this humble train station into a sacred temple?”
“How can I turn this space into a blessed stage worthy of artists?”
And so I thought—
I would create a palace-like set, one that reflects the dignity I believe every artist deserves.
Instead of just displaying their works, I turned each artist’s piece into a towering banner.
In that grand palace I envisioned, the artworks became like exhibits in an open-air museum—
right there, in front of the station.
That’s the kind of world I wanted to create.

At first, I just thought it would be nice if we could walk the red carpet.
That was about it.
But then, in April—before the event in May—I traveled to Dubai.
I was there to exhibit at World Art Dubai with my own solo stand.
And that experience completely changed the way I thought.
One of the girls I spent time with in Dubai said to me,
“Toyomi, it’s great that you can speak English. As an artist, that’s a real strength.”
That surprised me a little, because most people around me naturally speak both English and Japanese—and often other languages, too.
But then I realized—maybe my English really is a strength.
That’s when I decided:
“Let’s make Art Runway a concept we share with the world.”
From that moment, I rewrote everything:
The official Instagram became bilingual in Japanese and English.
I revised all the MC scripts to include English.
I even searched for an English-speaking MC.
It wasn’t by accident—I made a clear and intentional choice.

Not someday, but now.
From right here, we begin sharing Art Runway with the world.

Once I set that intention, the Art Runway statement naturally became:
“Connecting artists from around the world through the red carpet.”
It’s a mission that gives me deep purpose—
and it allows me to keep reliving the bliss I felt at World Art Dubai,
when I experienced the joy of connecting with the world through art.
I made a clear decision to share this with the world.

That means doing everything bilingually—from media to messaging.
We’re creating both a Japanese and an English version of the official website.
On X (Twitter), I mainly post in English.
On Instagram, I use a hybrid approach—sharing in both languages.

I’m planting a lot of seeds right now.
It’s only been just over a month since we began.
I’ve also made a conscious decision to focus on both documentation and distribution for Art Runway.
We’re producing an official photo book—not just for the sake of it, but to make it available through an online store.
But that’s just the beginning. I want to go further.

That’s why I’m planning to mint it as an NFT and release it into the global art market.
And publish it on Amazon Kindle so people can access it more easily.
The photo book should exist not just as a product, but as part of the art world’s discourse.
We’ll be exhibiting it at a Zine festival in a gallery this August.
It means that the red carpet won’t just be a fleeting moment—
it will become something eternal.
The time an artist walks the red carpet may be brief,
but we have the power to transform that moment into a lasting experience.
And that, to me, is the very embodiment of
“Connecting artists from around the world through the red carpet.”

The time an artist spends walking the red carpet may be brief, but we transform that moment into an eternal experience. I believe this is how we bring the concept of “connecting artists from around the world through the red carpet” to life.

We’re still in the pre-order phase, but we’ve already received many orders.
We also plan to display it at the merchandise corner of the July Art Runway Tokyo event.
👉 https://artrunway.official.ec/items/106480680

I want to invite international artists to Art Runway in Japan—and also take Art Runway overseas.
Every day, I ask myself what I can do to make that happen.
If this interview reaches someone’s heart, I’ll be truly happy.
I believe that by putting it out there, someone will hear it.
I’m doing this with everything I’ve got!