On a Journey from East to East
Kimono by Global Art Daily (GAD) started when Sophie Mayuko Arni, GAD's founder, came across archives of unworn, second-hand kimonos at her mother's hometown in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. These were silk treasures: all handmade, hand-embroidered, stitched to perfection. She immediately thought to bring them to her second home of Dubai, UAE.
By recontextualizing them to the UAE, kimonos take on the form of the popular abaya and fall into a sustainable, quality-focused, and colorful form of modest wear.
As such, Kimono by GAD aims to inject new life into finely-crafted Japanese silk kimonos, and continue to create cross-cultural dialogues between the UAE and Japan. Our goal is to celebrate femininity and craftsmanship across continents.
As part of Global Art Daily's umbrella, the brand's goal is to cross-pollinate and collaborate with artistic talent between the Arabian Peninsula and Japan.
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What is Global Art Daily (GAD)
Global Art Daily Agency conceptualizes, curates, and organizes exhibitions as well as publishes original artist interviews and exhibition reviews throughout the Arab World and Asia.
Global Art Daily originated as a publication for the UAE’s contemporary art scene, with print magazine issues and digital E-Issues published since 2018. Maintaining its original local-meets-global approach from its publications in its curation of exhibitions, Global Art Daily continues to highlight multicultural voices, especially between Japan and the UAE.
Sophie Mayuko Arni, founder of Global Art Daily Agency, has curated five volumes of the East-East: UAE meets Japan exhibition series (2016 - present), which have been exhibited at NYU Abu Dhabi Project Space (Abu Dhabi, 2016), CHI-KA Space (Dubai, 2016-17), HB.Nezu (Tokyo, 2021), Block House (Tokyo, 2021), and Hotel Acao for Atami Art Grant (Atami, 2022).
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Find us on IG: @kimono.gad
Founder: @sophiemayuko
Interested to learn more about contemporary Japanese & UAE-based artists? @globalartdaily