社団法人 日本グラフィックデザイナー協会 JAGDA

Since 1983 the Japan Graphic Designers Association Inc. (JAGDA) has organized an ongoing series of annual poster exhibitions, held both in Japan and abroad, featuring works by its members on special topics. Starting with the very first “JAGDA Peace Posters Exhibition,” these shows have garnered high acclaim and aroused significant response.
For 1997, JAGDA selected “The World Heritage” as the exhibition’s theme. This topic was chosen as a focused extension of our previous shows which dealt more generally with the issues of peace and the environment.
UNESCO’s World Heritage list currently embraces 506 sites worldwide. A growing roster of Japanese sites have been included since Japan became a party to the World Heritage Convention in 1992. As a result, interest in the World Heritage project is swiftly gaining momentum among the Japanese public.
“The JAGDA Poster Exhibition 1997: The World Heritage” aims to launch diverse visual messages through the communicative art of graphic design. The poster medium, we believe, enables visual messages of a kind not possible relying only on photography or video presentations.
In organizing this show, we hope that it will be seen by as many visitors as possible. In the process, we hope too that the show will deepen their interest in and concern for the rich and diverse legacies of the Earth bestowed to us down through the ages.
Finally, we wish to offer our sincere gratitude to all those who have made this show possible. In particular, we would like to express our appreciation to National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan, the Japan Art Fund, Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. and Takeo Co., Ltd. for their cooperation and support.
(Preface from the catalogue)

*This exhibition received both Gold Medal and the Icograda Excellence Award at the 16th BIO, Biennial of Industrial Design in 1998.