Uniqlo ART FOR ALL: Standing on stage in the auditorium of the Louvre Museum in Paris, Ayahiko Kondo remarked, “I’m happy that my dream came true. I’ve always wanted to visit this place ever since I was a child.”
The renowned Paris museum hosted the first-ever UT Grand Prix prize-giving ceremony on Tuesday, where the Japanese cartoonist was one of five creatives to be honoured. The competition is Uniqlo T-shirt design competition.
Sarah Andelman, the creator of the consultancy firm Just an Idea, gave Kondo his award. India Mahdavi, a fellow judge and interior designer, removed her jacket to demonstrate her selected design by Taiwanese painter Sonya Wang, which included silhouettes of some of the most well-known statues in the museum.
From 9,269 entries received worldwide, nine winners were chosen based on pieces from the Louvre collection. Since 2021, the Louvre and Uniqlo have partnered to support educational initiatives. The best designs on t-shirts were scheduled to be available for purchase from Thursday until August 31 at a pop-up store within the museum.
The recipient of the Grand Prix was the British artist Hinz Pak, who first took home the honour fifteen years prior. His winning design featured the Mona Lisa holding chopsticks and an onigiri representation of I.M. Pei’s Louvre Pyramid.
Uniqlo T-shirt Design
“Before learning about art, I studied the Mona Lisa.” “She is the ideal piece for anyone to begin their artistic journey,” the artist, who was born in Hong Kong, declared during his victory speech. “Art is like regular food; it’s tasty, nourishing, and easy to make. Probably the easiest approach to promote art and creativity is to print the chosen pieces on T-shirts.
The parent firm of Uniqlo T-shirt, Fast Retailing, has a strong commitment to democratising art, according to Koji Yanai, senior executive officer.
“We want to keep creating art that is accessible to everyone and give as many people as we can access the Louvre.” I think everyone can genuinely appreciate this art,” he remarked.
The Louvre’s head of external relations and communication, Stéphanie Hussonnois-Bouhayati, claimed that T-shirts were a successful means of bringing art into the mainstream.
“It’s something that everyone has in their wardrobe and it can also be a manifesto.” “The goal of our partnership with Uniqlo is to provide access to culture, and a T-shirt serves as a gateway.”
